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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


V 


E  Gale 

OF   THE 


KLOSTER 


B  IRomance  of  tbe  German  miotics 
of  fbe  Cocaltco 


By  BROTHER  JABEZ 

Illustrations  by  Frank   McKernan 


Oh,  blessed  solitary  life, 
Where  all  creation  silence  keeps  ! 
Who  thus  himself  to  God  can  yield 
That  he  ne* er  from  him  strays, 
Hath  to  the  highest  goal  attained, 
And  can  without  vexation  live. 
Faith,  toleration,  love,  and  hope, 
These  all  have  come  to  his  support. 

— Johann  Conrad  Beissel.  Translation 
from  the  German  by  Julius  Friedrich 
Sachse,  Litt.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA 

Griffitb  &  IRowlanD  ipress 
1904 


COPYRIGHTED     1904     BY 

ULYSSES  S.  KOONS 


Published  December,  1904 


from  tbe  prcgfl  of  tbe 
Hmcrican  JBapttet  publication  Society 


TO   THE    MEMORY    OF 

flU?  fmotber 

THIS    STORY    OF   THE    LITTLE    BAND 

OF   BROTHERS   AND    SISTERS 

OF   THE    KLOSTER 

IS    LOVINGLY    DEDICATED 


INTRODUCTION 


A  great  New  England  historian  has  said  that 
"  The  colony  of  Pennsylvania  was  not  only  more 
heterogeneous  in  population  than  any  of  the  others, 
but  it  actually  was  the  principal  center  of  distribu- 
tion of  the  non-English  population  from  the  sea- 
board to  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  All  of  the 
population  of  the  Carolinas,  as  well  as  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  entered  the  country  by  way  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  this  migration  was  so  great, 
both  in  its  physical  dimensions  and  in  the  political 
and  social  effects  which  it  wrought,  that  Pennsyl- 
vania acquires  a  special  interest  as  the  temporary 
tarrying  place  and  distributing  center  for  so  much 
that  we  now  call  characteristically  American."  1 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  into  none  of  the 
other  colonies  did  there  flow  such  a  tide  of  Ger- 
man immigration,  bringing  with  it  many  a  hardy 
Swiss  and  French  Huguenot  refugee  from  the 
Palatinate,  along  the  lower  Rhine. 

Up  to  the  Revolution  there  were  more  Germans 
in  Pennsylvania  than  in  all  the  other  colonies  to- 
gether.     Benjamin    Franklin,   it    is   well   known, 

1  "Dutch  and  Quaker  Settlements."     John  Fiske. 


VI  INTRODUCTION 

feared  that  the  State  might  become  a  German 
province.  Among  the  causes  of  this  resistless 
tide  of  immigration  were  :  Religious  zeal,  fostered 
by  the  teachings  of  William  Penn  and  George  Fox 
and  their  followers,  and  Penn's  far-sighted  pledge 
of  tolerance  as  to  liberty  of  worship,  sectarian  am- 
bition, escape  from  religious  persecution,  and  bad 
government. 

Especially  were  the  first-comers  inspired  by  re- 
ligious zeal,  and  it  was  to  this  that  such  old  settle- 
ments as  Bethlehem  and  Germantown  and  Ephrata 
owe  their  founding.  Later,  when  the  tide  rose  to 
a  thousand  German  immigrants  a  month,  a  great 
majority  came  with  the  simple  desire  to  earn  a 
livelihood  in  peace  and  safety — a  desire  played 
upon  by  the  glib-tongued,  unscrupulous  land  agents 
of  that  day  so  successfully,  that  shipload  after  ship- 
load of  poverty-stricken  German  peasantry,  endur- 
ing uncomplainingly  the  sufferings  and  hardships 
of  hunger,  thirst,  and  foetid  air  of  the  crowded 
hold  and  consequent  ship-fever,  poured  into  the 
port  of  Philadelphia  and  immediately  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance. 

Quaint  and  curious  names  they  had,  as  is  evi- 
denced by  many  an  ancient  shipmaster's  list — 
patronymics  indicative  of  trade,  occupation,  profes- 
sion, personal  characteristics,  nicknames,  names 
that  by  a  slow  but  sure  process  of  anglization  have 
lost  much  of  their  humor  and  flavor,  and  are  now 


INTRODUCTION  Vll 

so  changed  in  spelling  and  sound  as  hardly  to  be 
recognized  in  their  original  form. 

But  with  all  the  fears  of  pauperism  and  disease 
and  racial  deterioration  and  establishment  of  in- 
imical foreign  institutions,  this  mass  of  crude, 
uncouth  peasantry,  with  their  unpronounceable 
names,  besides  bearing  the  brunt  of  Indian  depre- 
dation and  massacre  during  the  French  and  Indian 
wars,  became  the  ancestry  of  perhaps  not  less  than 
one-third  of  the  population  of  Pennsylvania  to-day. 

Beneath  the  unpromising  exterior  of  these  peas- 
ants were  firmly  fixed  the  virtues  that  give  strength 
and  stability,  if  not  mercurial  brilliancy — piety, 
industry,  patience,  thrift,  peaceful  dispositions,  and 
intense  love  of  home.  The  men  were  homemak- 
ers ;  the  women  were  homekeepers.  Devoted  tillers 
of  the  soil,  politics  and  business  had  few  charms 
for  them. 

Although  in  such  counties  as  Bucks,  Lehigh, 
Lancaster,  Dauphin,  Northampton,  York,  Carbon, 
and  Monroe,  there  are  many  communities  inhab- 
ited almost  entirely  by  Pennsylvania-Germans,  still 
retaining  their  peculiar  dialect,  nevertheless  their 
German  church  service  and  German  newspapers 
are  rapidly  becoming  things  of  the  past. 

The  present  generation  of  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
mans is  going  to  the  public  schools,  normal  schools, 
and  colleges,  and  in  other  respects  is  becoming 
thoroughly  English  ;  for  however  strongly  the  more 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION 

conservative  ones  may  cling  to  the  old  habits  and 
traditions,  it  is  true  that  ere  long  Pennsylvania- 
German  and  such  things  as  Pennsylvania-German 
singing  schools,  "Fostnacht"  festivities,  "frolics," 
and  "  vendues,"  will  be  matters  of  tradition. 

Perhaps  no  phase  of  their  history  is  more  inter- 
esting than  that  of  their  early  religious  experi- 
ences. In  no  other  of  the  American  colonies  were 
there  at  such  an  early  date  so  many  altars  raised 
to  the  various  faiths — orthodox,  sectarian,  mystic, 
and  separatist,  Lutheran,  Moravian,  Quaker,  Men- 
nonite,  Dunker,  Seventh  Dayer,  and  New  Mooner. 
But  though  differing  in  creed  and  tenet,  and  fre- 
quently hurling  at  each  other  their  broadsides,  as 
their  controversial  pamphlets  were  called,  all  these 
sects  were  conspicuous  for  their  thrift,  industry, 
and  religious  devotion  ;  for  though  many  of  their 
beliefs  were  extremely  mystical  and  showed  every 
vagary  of  pietism,  one  great  fundamental  idea  in- 
spired and  possessed  these  people,  namely,  to  live 
in  the  utmost  simplicity  of  habit,  manner  and 
speech,  garb  and  diet,  in  strict  conformity  with 
the  practices  of  the  early  church,  and  as  close  as 
possible  to  their  Lord  and  Master,  to  whose  service 
their  lives  were  consecrated.  It  is  because  of  this 
idea  conscientiously  lived  out  that  this  Common- 
wealth is  so  greatly  indebted  to  them. 

The  author  has  selected  as  a  type  the  Kloster  at 
Ephrata  (a  name  fragrant  with  biblical  suggestive- 


INTRODUCTION  IX 

ness),  the  founder  of  which,  Conrad  Beissel,  was 
a  strong,  intensely  earnest,  impetuous  religious 
leader,  who  in  a  few  years  gathered  about  him  a 
number  of  zealous  men  and  women,  some  of  them 
of  considerable  learning.  In  less  than  a  decade 
there  arose  a  semi-monastic  community  which  de- 
veloped into  a  religious,  educational,  commercial, 
and  industrial  settlement  that  at  an  early  date  set 
up  in  that  far-away  wilderness,  many  miles  distant 
from  the  chief  city  of  the  province,  the  third  print- 
ing press  in  the  colony,  and  the  first  to  print  with 
both  German  and  English  type. 

The  little  town,  or  "mountain  borough,"  of 
Ephrata  lies  about  eighteen  miles  southwest  from 
the  flourishing  city  of  Reading  and  not  more  than 
thirteen  miles  northeast  of  Lancaster,  with  its 
memory  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in  the  rich, 
fertile  valley  of  the  Cocalico  in  the  northern  part 
of  Lancaster  County. 

The  Ephrata  of  the  present  day,  numbering  pos- 
sibly three  thousand  inhabitants,  is  situated  at  the 
foot  of  the  gentle  northwestern  slope  of  the  Ephrata 
Mountains.  A  broad  main  street  that  easily  as- 
cends toward  the  southeast  leads  up  close  to  the 
"  Ephrata  Mountain  Springs,"  a  famous  resort  in 
the  days  before  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  But 
directing  one's  way  in  the  opposite  direction,  leav- 
ing the  little  town  with  its  banks  and  hotels  and 
industrial  establishments,  the  unfailing  accompani- 


X  INTRODUCTION 

ments  of  these  prosaic,  unsentimental  days,  the 
wide,  ancient  thoroughfare  leads  northwestward, 
the  business  features  giving  way  to  the  neat, 
pleasant,  comfortable  homes  so  characteristic  of 
the  Pennsylvania-Germans.  The  houses,  with  the 
peculiar  feature  of  their  gable  ends  toward  the 
side  instead  of  facing  the  street,  are  well  set  back 
in  the  grassy  yards  enriched  with  glorious  dahlias 
in  crimson  and  gold  and  ivory  white,  purple  asters, 
bright  geraniums,  flaunting  hollyhocks,  and  all  the 
other  well-beloved,  old-fashioned  favorites,  while 
from  the  opulent  garden  in  the  rear,  most  likely  a 
magnificent  sunflower  in  solitary  gorgeousness 
turns  his  dark,  golden-fringed  eye  to  his  god  of 
fire  and  light,  now  and  then  the  whisper  of  some 
truant  breeze  swaying  the  stately  head  of  the  ar- 
dent devotee  into  a  half-wistful  glance  out  over 
the  dusty  road. 

But  neither  these  nor  the  spacious  front  porch, 
with  its  luxurious  trellised  vines  and  the  inviting 
benches  before  the  front  door,  receive  more  than 
an  admiring  and  half-envious  glance,  and  are  left 
behind  as  the  road  passes  over  the  arches  of  the 
old  stone  bridge  that  spans  the  Cocalico,  flowing 
along  the  northwestern  edge  of  the  town.  In  the 
angle  formed  by  the  northern  bank  of  the  stream 
and  the  southern  side  of  the  turnpike  road,  but  a 
short  distance  beyond  the  point  of  the  angle  where 
the  road  leaves  the  bridge,  lie  the  Kloster  grounds, 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

formerly  known  as  "  The  Settlement  of  the  Soli- 
tary" {Lager  der  Einsanien),  but  now  locally  re- 
ferred to  as  "  The  Kloster,"  a  full  and  excellent 
description  of  which  is  contained  in  "The  German 
Sectarians  of  Pennsylvania,"  by  Julius  Friedrich 
Sachse,  litt.  d.,  in  which  he  has,  after  years  of 
patient  labor  given  us  a  most  admirable,  critical, 
and  legendary  history  of  the  Ephrata  Kloster. 

Within  the  confines  of  this  out  of  the  way  nook 
the  author  has  placed  the  personages  of  this  ro- 
mance, which  he  fondly  hopes  may  be  of  interest 
not  only  to  Pennsylvania-Germans,  but  to  all  who 
delight  in  a  story  which  is  only  a  story.  Over  a 
century  and  a  half  has  elapsed  since  the  Sister- 
hood and  Brotherhood  were  in  the  zenith  of  their 
little  world,  and  it  were  well-nigh  impossible  to 
reproduce  at  this  late  day  with  absolute  fidelity 
such  matters  as  dress,  customs,  manners  and  hab- 
its, religious  rites  and  ceremonies ;  and  yet,  thanks 
to  the  exhaustive  investigations  of  Mr.  Sachse  and 
others,  the  author  has  been  able  to  pattern  forth 
in  the  warp  and  woof  of  this  tale  more  or  less 
distinctly,  considerable  that  relates  to  the  homely 
architecture,  the  cloistral  life,  worship,  rites,  cere- 
monies, and  beliefs  of  these  peculiar  but  devoted, 
plain-living,  high-thinking  Sisters  and  Brothers. 

To  reproduce  their  speech,  even  if  possible,  were 
of  course  sadly  out  of  place  at  this  day;  for  the 
German,  even  of  the  early  settlers,  was  represented 


Xll  INTRODUCTION 

by  such  various  dialects  as  Swabian,  Wiirtem- 
berger,  Bavarian,  Swiss,  Hessian,  Palatinate,  and 
others  ;  and  though  these  were  all  German  dialects, 
yet  since  those  days  there  has  been  such  a  copious 
infusion  of  English  words,  that  to-day  Pennsylva- 
nia-German, though  "  it  is  still,  in  the  articulation 
of  its  bones  and  its  general  form  and  spirit,  the 
tongue  of  the  Rhine  country,"  !  is  none  the  less 
neither  German  nor  English,  but  "  a  hybrid,  non- 
descript jargon,"2  at  best  an  Americanized  dialect 
of  the  German,  but  a  dialect  able  to  produce  beau- 
tiful flowers  in  the  fields  of  lyric  poetry  under  the 
cultivation  of  such  as  Harbaugh,  Hark,  Zimmer- 
man, Zeigler,  Fisher,  Grumbine,  and  others. 

Pennsylvania-German  being  a  dialect  not  of  the 
almost  universal  English  tongue  but  of  the  Ger- 
man, and  what  is  especially  to  the  point,  a  fast 
declining  dialect  with  but  a  small  remnant  who  can 
speak  and  understand  it  in  the  vernacular,  the 
author  feels  not  only  that  he  should  by  employing 
this  dialect  address  himself  to  an  exceedingly  small 
audience,  but  might,  moreover,  justly  incur  the 
charge  of  pedantry  and  affectation. 

Thus  while  it  is  true  that  the  greater  number  of 
the  Sisters  and  Brothers  of  the  Kloster  were  Ger- 
mans and  spoke  the  mother  tongue  in  their  daily 
intercourse,    yet    after    all    language  is    only   the 

1  "The  Pennsylvania-German  Dialect,"  by  Lee  L.  Grumbine,  Esq. 
?  Ibid. 


INTRODUCTION  Xlll 

means  of  conveying  ideas,  thoughts,  and  these  we 
know  have  a  language  understood  by  all. 

Moreover,  this  volume  is  not  presented  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  antiquarian  or  philologist. 
The  Brothers  and  Sisters  of  Ephrata,  though  celi- 
bates, sworn  to  the  love  of  the  celestial  Eve  and 
the  heavenly  Bridegroom,  were  none  the  less  flesh 
and  flood,  subject  to  the  same  passions  and  temp- 
tations as  the  men  and  women  of  the  present 
day.  They  too  had  "eyes,  hands,  organs,  dimen- 
sions, senses,  affections,  passions,"  and  were  "fed 
with  the  same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons, 
subject  to  the  same  diseases,  warmed  and  cooled 
by  the  same  winter  and  summer."  In  a  word, 
they  were  men  and  women  of  like  passions  with 
ourselves. 

It  is  of  such  men  and  women  the  author  writes  ; 
men  and  women  unused  "  to  the  courtliness  of 
state,  unskilled  in  the  hollowness  of  vain  compli- 
ment, untutored  in  the  frippery  and  polish  of  arti- 
ficial society,  unacquainted  with  the  insincerity 
and  diplomacy  of  the  wider  world,  removed  from 
kith  and  kin  and  thrown  upon  their  own  resources 
among  strangers  and  amid  new  surroundings."  * 

The  author,  that  he  may  not  be  held  to  have 
drawn  too  deeply  from  his  neighbor's  well,  fully 
acknowledges  his  great  indebtedness  to  his  friend, 
Mr.  Sachse.     Indeed,  to  do  exact  justice,  it  must 

1  Grumbine. 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

be  said  that  this  volume  contains  nothing  more 
than  a  romance  wound  about  the  facts,  incidents, 
traditions,  and  descriptions,  taken  by  the  author 
from  the  "  German  Sectarians,"  with  the  kind  per- 
mission of  Mr.  Sachse. 

Acknowledgment  of  indebtedness  should  also  be 
made  to  Rev.  J.  Max  Hark  and  Hon.  Samuel  W. 
Pennypacker,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the 
use  of  translations,  portions  of  which  are  prefixed 
to  Chapters  XV.  and  XIX.  It  should  also  be 
added  that  the  initial  letters  used  through  the  book, 
as  well  as  the  design  on  the  cover,  are  made  from 
reproductions  of  pen-work  drawings  executed  by 
the  Ephrata  Sisterhood. 

The  Author. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Flight  from  the  World i 

II.    "Peter  the  Hermit" 10 

III.  SONNLEIN 21 

IV.  We  Leave  the  Hermitage 30 

V.   Ephrata 40 

VI.  Concerning  Taxation 51 

VII.  The  Right  Prevails 69 

VIII.  Our  First  Loss 77 

IX.  A  Love  Feast 86 

X.  The  Brotherhood  of  Zion 94 

XI.  Brother  Agonius  and  his  Prophecy  ...  108 

XII.  Sister  Bernice  is  Comforted 127 

XIII.  The  Comet  and  Brother  Alburtus  .    .    .    .  135 

XIV.  Our  Sister  Leaves  Us   , 146 

XV.  The  Great  Comet 155 

XV 


XVI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI.  A  Far  Journey 165 

XVII.   In  a  Strange  Land 176 

XVIII.   Sonnlein  Cometh  to  Man's  Estate  .    .    .  193 

XIX.  When  Hearts  are  Young 207 

XX.   Sister  Genoveva  is  Gone 223 

XXI.  Brother  Alburtus 235 

XXII.  Sonnlein  Taketh  the  Ordeal 249 

XXIII.  A  Midnight  Visit 265 

XXIV.  Mine  Enemy's  Hiding-Place 281 

XXV.  The  End  of  the  Witch 295 

XXVI.  The  Twain  are  Made  One 305 

XXVII.   Retrospect 324 


CHAPTER  I 


FLIGHT    FROM    THE    WORLD 


Happy  the  man  who  has  the  town  escaped  ; 

To  him  the  whistling  trees,  the  murmuring  brooks, 

The  shining  pebbles,  preach 

Virtue' s  and  wisdom' s  lore. 

The  whispering  grove  a  holy  temple  is 

To  him,  where  God  draws  nigher  to  his  soul  ; 

Each  verdant  sod  a  shrine, 

Whereby  he  kneels  to  heaven. 

— Ludwig  Heitirich  Christoph  H'olty. 

R  a  clearer  understand- 
ing of  what  I  have  here 
written  in  the  fond  de- 
sire that  there  may  be 
those  who  delight  in  a 
tale  simply  told,  even 
though  it  be  of  my 
brothers  and  sisters  who 
lived  their  quiet,  peace- 
ful lives,  with  now  and 
then,  'tis  true,  a  jarring 
note,  consecrated  to  their  faith,  in  the  solitude  of 
a  new-world  wilderness,  I  must  set  forth,  without 
weariness  to  the  reader,  I  hope,  somewhat  of  the 

B  I 


2  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

humble  pilgrim  whose  now  old  and  time-worn 
hands  pen  these  lines. 

I,  Johann  Peter  Muller,  son  of  a  reformed  min- 
ister, under  the  inspection  of  Kreis  Kaiserslantern, 
was  born  in  the  year  1710,  at  Altzborn  Oberamt 
Kaiserslautern  in  the  Palatinate,  studied  at  Heidel- 
berg, matriculated  1725  at  that  university  and  in 
my  twentieth  year  volunteered  in  response  to  the 
urgent  calls  for  clergymen  from  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Leaving  my  beloved  father  and  mother  and 
Vaterland  in  the  summer  of  1730,  I  floated  on  a 
raft  down  the  Rhine  to  Rotterdam,  embarking 
there  for  America  on  the  good  ship  "Thistle,"  and 
after  a  long,  uneventful  voyage  arrived  at  Phila- 
delphia, August  28,  1730,  taking  the  oath  of  alleg- 
iance the  following  day,  which  oath  I  am  proud  to 
say  I  have  always  kept.  Almost  immediately  upon 
my  arrival  I  applied  to  the  Rev.  Jedediah  Andrews, 
for  ordination,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Philadelphia. 

After  asking  me  a  great  many  questions  he  ad- 
vised me  to  apply  to  the  synod.  This  excellent 
advice  was  acted  upon  so  promptly  that  in  three 
weeks  after  my  arrival  the  notes  of  the  synod  re- 
corded, "  It  is  agreed  by  the  synod  that  Mr.  John 
Peter  Miller,  a  Dutch  probationer  lately  come  over, 
be  left  to  the  care  of  the  presbytery  of  Philadel- 
phia to  settle  him  in  the  work  of  the  ministry." 


FLIGHT    FROM    THE   WORLD  3 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolution  the  presbytery 
appointed  three  ministers  to  examine  me  for  en- 
trance upon  my  holy  office,  and  what  they  required 
of  me  is  best  shown  by  a  minute  of  the  meeting 
where  I  "  came  under  Tryals  and  after  a  previous 
Test  of  his  ability  in  Prayer,  Examining  him  in  the 
Languages,  he  read  his  sermon  and  Exegesis  on 
ye  Justification  and  Various  suitable  questions  on 
ye  Arts  and  Sciences,  officially  Theology  and  out 
of  Scripture." 

Briefly,  the  presbytery  licensed  me  as  a  candi- 
date to  preach  the  gospel  "  where  Providence  may 
give  him  opportunity  and  call,"  and  for  four  years 
after  my  ordination  to  the  ministry  I  preached  the 
word,  during  which  period  I  received  much  assist- 
ance from  Conrad  Weiser,  one  of  my  church  of- 
ficers, who  for  years  was  consulted  by  both  the 
civil  and  military  authorities  in  times  of  need  and 
danger,  he  being  an  efficient  Indian  interpreter  to 
the  government. 

I  officiated  among  my  countrymen  in  Philadel- 
phia and  Germantown,  and  in  the  Skippack  Valley, 
besides  visiting  the  more  widely  scattered  congre- 
gation in  the  province.  I  was  also  called  upon  to 
take  regular  charge  of  the  Tulpehocken  Church, 
together  with  the  Union  Congregation  of  the 
Lutheran  and  Reformed  which  had  been  formed 
by  the  Germans  living  in  the  valley  of  the  Cocal- 
ico  and  the  Bucherthal.     This  region  was  almost 


4  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTEtt 

wholly  settled  by  those  of  the  Lutheran  and  Re- 
formed faiths,  the  circuit  being  known  as  the 
Canestoga  congregation.  Ere  long  a  church  for 
the  United  Congregation  was  built  about  six  miles 
northeast  of  Ephrata  on  a  commanding  hill  be- 
yond the  Bucherthal,  the  Moden  Crik  (Muddy 
Creek)  Church. 

Having  preached  to  mine  own  people  for  several 
years,  I  quit  the  ministry  and  returned  to  private 
life,  not,  however,  without  much  prayer  and  medi- 
tation ;  for  about  that  time  the  Ephrata  commu- 
nity was  in  its  infancy.  I  had  never  had  much 
inclination  to  join  it,  because  of  the  reproach  and 
contempt  which  lay  against  the  community  by  the 
orthodox  churches  of  the  province ;  but  my  in- 
ward conductor  brought  me  to  that  dilemma,  either 
to  be  a  member  of  this  new  institution  or  consent 
to  my  own  damnation.  I  chose  the  first,  and  re- 
ceived baptism  into  the  congregation  in  May  of 
1 735,  together  with  Conrad  Weiser  and  a  number  of 
families  from  the  Union  Church.  We  were  baptized 
by  Conrad  Beissel,  whose  inspired  eloquence  had 
finally  prevailed  upon  me  to  take  this  step. 

I  did  not  much  differ  from  a  poor  criminal  under 
sentence  of  death  when  I  was  led  into  the  water. 
However,  the  Lord  our  God  did  strengthen  me 
when  I  came  into  the  water,  and  then  I  in  a  solemn 
manner  renounced  my  life  with  all  its  prerogatives, 
without  reservation,  and  I  have  found,  in  all  my 


FLIGHT    FROM    THE    WORLD  5 

long  life,  that  all  this  was  put  into  the  divine  re- 
cords, for  he  hath  never  failed  to  assist  me  in  times 
of  need,  and  these  have  been  many. 

But  much  wrath  and  indignation  was  engendered 
against  us  by  our  baptism.  We  were  called  "  se- 
ceders,"  "rebels,"  "  Beisselianer  "  ;  others  said  we 
had  been  deluded  by  the  witchcraft  and  sorcery  of 
Beissel ;  still  others  said  that  our  conversion  was 
the  work  of  the  Evil  One ;  others  were  for  bring- 
ing civil  action  against  us ;  but  in  all  the  noise 
and  smoke  of  this  great  tumult,  Brother  Weiser 
successfully  prevented  any  charges  being  brought 
against  us.  Pastor  Boehm,  my  old  Skippack  rival, 
hath  kindly  said  of  me  in  this  matter  in  his  report 
to  the  Amsterdam  Synod  :  "  This  Miller  at  the 
same  time  drew  the  Tulpehocken  church  to  him- 
self, against  whose  false  spirit  I  frequently  warned 
them  ;  but  they  continued  to  adhere  to  him  like 
misguided,  silly  people.  Finally,  the  fraud  against 
which  I  warned  them  so  honestly  and  continuously 
has  come  to  light,  and  this  Miller  publicly  went  over 
to  the  dissolute  Seventh-day  Tumpler  sect,  and  had 
himself  baptized  Tumplerwise  in  the  Canestoka, 
in  the  month  of  April,  1735.  He  took  out  ten 
families,  Reformed  and  Lutheran,  from  the  Tulpe- 
hocken congregation,  who  did  as  he  did." 

May  the  Lord  forgive  him  for  his  narrow  sneer 
as  I  have  long  ago,  for  it  hath  ever  been  my  rule 
not  to  bear  spite  or  malice,  no  matter  how  grievous 


6  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

the  injury,  knowing  full  well  that  what  the  Roman 
philosopher  hath  said  is  true,  and  that  is,  "  Malice 
drinks  one-half  of  its  own  poison." 

Brother  Weiser,  I  regret  to  say,  did  not  possess 
himself  of  the  same  spirit ;  but  on  the  contrary 
always  resented  every  insult,  and  it  is  still  current 
among  us  that  shortly  after  he  left  the  Kloster  in 
later  years  to  accept  a  justice's  commission  offered 
him  by  Governor  Thomas,  our  Brother  Weiser, 
while  riding  the  road  to  Reading,  met  the  Re- 
formed pastor  of  the  Cocalico,  on  his  nag.  Brother 
Weiser,  foolishly  forgetting  the  spirit  of  humility 
of  the  Kloster,  cried  out  to  the  pastor  that  he 
surely  must  think  himself  above  his  Lord  whom 
he  professed  to  serve.  Asked  for  an  explanation, 
Brother  Weiser  replied  that  where  an  ass  was  good 
enough  for  the  Saviour  it  should  be  good  enough 
for  his  followers,  to  which  came  the  quick  rejoinder 
that  this  was  perfectly  true,  but  as  Governor 
Thomas  had  appointed  all  the  asses  as  justices, 
people  were  forced  to  ride  upon  horses. 

Within  two  days  after  our  baptism,  and  in  order 
that  we  might  cut  ourselves  entirely  loose  from  our 
former  mode  of  life  and  thought,  we  determined 
that  all  books  which  were  now  considered  libri 
heretici,  such  as  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  Luther's 
Catechism,  the  Psalter,  and  Arndt's  "  Paradies 
Gartlein"  should  be  utterly  consumed  by  fire.  In 
short,  all  devotional  literature  of  the  old  faith  not 


FLIGHT    FROM    THE   WORLD  J 

in  accord  with  our  new  departure,  we  gathered 
from  the  various  families  that  had  been  converted, 
and  not  a  few  from  mine  own  little  library,  and 
upon  the  appointed  day  Brother  Weiser  and  the 
converts  and  myself  assembled  at  the  little  cabin 
of  Brother  Fiedler,  and  there  solemnly  condemned 
the  pernicious  volumes  to  be  burned. 

The  " Paradies  Gartlein"  however,  had  a  pecu- 
liar sanctity  attached  to  it  by  the  German  settlers  ; 
for  it  was  firmly  believed  that  it  was  protected  by 
Divine  interposition  from  both  fire  and  flood.  I 
had  heard,  even  in  my  boyhood  days,  many  a  story 
of  the  miraculous  preservation  of  this  book.  Some 
present  objected  to  its  being  included,  for  surely 
the  Lord  would  save  it.  Others,  as  ardent  in  their 
new  faith  as  they  had  been  in  the  old,  no  more 
honored  the  book  as  sacred,  but  were  now  firmly 
convinced  that  as  its  immunity  hitherto  had  been 
from  the  Evil  One,  the  greater  the  reason  it  must 
be  destroyed  with  the  others. 

The  brush  heap  was  accordingly  prepared  in 
front  of  Brother  Fiedler's  cabin.  Each  of  the 
participants  gathered  up  an  armful  of  the  doomed 
volumes,  and  at  the  word  filed  out  of  the  little 
doorway  headed  by  myself,  followed  by  the  school- 
master. Arriving  at  the  brush  heap  it  was  soon 
set  afire,  and  the  various  books  were  solemnly  con- 
signed to  the  flames  by  Brother  Weiser  and  the 
schoolmaster  and  others,  with  the  solemn  invoca- 


S  A   TALE   OF   THE   KLOSTER 

tion  "Thus  perish  all  priestcraft!"  Afterward 
the  ashes  were  scattered  to  the  four  winds,  and 
we  departed  feeling  that  we  had  thus  cut  ourselves 
off  from  the  faith  of  our  forefathers  and  had  this 
day  taken  a  step  pregnant  with  glorious  promise 
for  the  future. 

It  was  said  the  next  day,  and  I  firmly  believe 
this  was  an  invention  of  our  enemies,  that  one  of 
Brother  Fiedler's  family  found  among  the  now  cold 
ashes  the  little  "  Paradies  Gartlein"  a  trifle  charred 
on  the  edges,  the  leather  cover  shriveled  and 
blackened,  the  clasps  almost  burned  to  a  crisp,  but 
the  leaves  still  holding  together,  and  not  a  page  of 
the  print  in  the  slightest  impaired.  Its  preserva- 
tion soon  became  noised  abroad,  and  was  greatly 
used  as  an  argument  against  us  by  those  who  op- 
posed our  step.  As  for  me,  despite  the  many 
foolish  and  malicious  charges  that  have  been  made 
against  my  soundness  of  mind  for  taking  part  in 
this  thing  (which  I  defend  on  the  ground  of  neces- 
sity and  possibly  due  somewhat  to  youthful  zeal)  I 
never  believed  that  the  book  had  been  saved  but 
for  the  reason  that  when  it  was  thrown  into  the 
pyre  it  was  tightly  clasped  and  by  chance  fell  to 
one  side  of  the  flames,  and  as  I  have  often  noted- 
paper  tightly  pressed  together  yields  but  grudg, 
ingly  to  the  flames.  Many  good  people,  however, 
believed  the  miracle  story  and  feared  extreme  pun- 
ishment for  condemning  such  a  sacred  volume  to 


FLIGHT    FROM    THE   WORLD  9 

destruction,  and  the  demand  became  so  great  for 
the  book  that  an  edition  was  later  printed  by 
Christopher  Sauer,  of  Germantown ;  but  strange 
to  say  not  one  of  his  great  output  was  able  to 
withstand  either  fire  or  flood  when  it  came  into 
contact  with  these  elements. 


CHAPTER  II 

" PETER   THE    HERMIT " 

Where  I  may  sit  and  rightly  spell 
Of  every  star  that  heaven  doth  shew, 
And  every  herb  that  sips  the  dew  ; 
Till  old  experience  do  attain 
To  something  like  poetic  strain. 
These  pleasures,  Melancholy,  give  : 
And  I  with  thee  will  choose  to  live. 

— II  Penseroso. 


ITHIN  a  few  weeks  after 
the  events  already  nar- 
rated, Brother  Beissel 
made  another  visit  to 
Dulpehackin  with  the 
intention  of  forming 
the  converts  into  a  new 
congregation,  with  my- 
self as  leader.  When 
this  proposal  was  made 
to  me,  I  requested  over  night  for  reflection  and 
prayer.  In  my  zeal  I  had  thought  my  recent  bap- 
tism had  cleansed  and  purified  me  from  all  fleshly 
lusts  and  from  all  such  heaven-separating  vanities 
as  pride  and  ambition ;  but  that  night  witnessed 

IO 


"PETER    THE    HERMIT  II 

within  me  such  a  struggle  between  evil  ambition 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  desire  to  surrender  my- 
self completely  to  my  Maker  on  the  other,  as  I 
shall  never  forget. 

To  be  elder  of  the  as  yet  little  band  of  followers 
of  Brother  Beissel,  what  might  it  not  lead  to  ? 
For  I  doubted  not  at  the  time  but  that  the  little 
band  would  eventually  grow  into  a  large  congre- 
gation whose  influence  should  be  far-reaching. 
Like  the  mustard  seed  it  might  grow  and  increase 
until  the  whole  world  were  living  as  one  grand, 
consecrated  sisterhood  and  brotherhood. 

Some  such  splendid  temptation  the  Evil  One 
dangled  before  my  eyes  during  that  long  night, 
but  with  the  dawning  my  mind  became  clearer 
and  the  last  star  had  just  closed  its  eyes  when  I 
felt  stealing  over  me  a  feeling  of  sureness  that 
I  would  do  what  was  right,  and  with  that  I  felt 
myself  pervaded  with  a  sense  of  ineffable  peace. 

When  Brother  Beissel  saw  me  in  the  morning, 
anxious  for  my  reply,  I  told  him  I  must  decline 
his  offer  as  I  intended  to  withdraw  into  the  soli- 
tudes and  live  unmolested  from  the  frailties  and 
follies  of  the  world. 

He  acquiesced  with  a  cheerfulness  which  I  con- 
fess hurt  the  remnant  of  pride  in  me  and  which,  I 
fear,  hath  ever  been  imperfectly  suppressed,  for  I 
had  hoped  he  would  show  his  appreciation  of  me  and 
what  I  was  able  to  do  by  expressing  at  least  some 


12  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

regret.  But  that  pride  is  ever  the  forerunner  of  a 
fall  is,  indeed,  true,  and  my  chagrin  was  not  re- 
lieved any  upon  Brother  Beissel's  calmly  announ- 
cing, as  if  it  had  all  been  prearranged,  that  he 
would  appoint  as  teacher,  or  elder,  of  the  congre- 
gation, Bro.  Michael  Wohlforth,  whom  I  knew 
and  respected  for  his  sturdy  love  of  our  cause,  but 
who,  by  reason  of  the  infirmity  of  a  harsh  tongue 
and  violent  temper — and  I  regret  to  say  it,  though 
in  charity — was  not  too  well  fitted  for  an  office 
that  requireth  a  gentle  tongue,  there  being,  as 
human  flesh  is  made  up,  a  limit  even  to  Christian 
forbearance. 

At  that  time,  in  May,  1735,  the  Solitary  Breth- 
ren and  Sisters  had  dispersed  in  the  wilderness  of 
Conestogas,  each  for  himself,  as  hermits,  and  I, 
following  that  same  way,  did  set  up  my  hermitage 
in  Dulpehackin,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  on  a 
limpid  stream  ;  and  that  they  who  in  these  days 
live  in  their  large,  comfortable  houses  may  know 
what  the  hermits'  homes  were  like,  I  shall  set 
forth  how  my  own  little  hut,  or  cabin,  was  built, 
as  a  great  many  cabins  of  the  first  settlers  were 
after  the  same  pattern. 

These  be  the  dimensions  of  the  proper  model, 
which  I  set  down  in  all  particularity,  so  that  if 
there  be  of  my  readers  who  ever  take  themselves 
to  a  life  of  solitude  they  may  know  how  the  true 
hermit   should  be  housed,  for   I   know  there  be 


13 

many  that  have  not  this  knowledge  and  thus  are 
in  exceeding  danger  of  running  after  some  vulgar 
variation  of  the  ideal  model :  Length,  twenty-five 
feet ;  breadth,  twenty  feet ;  height  under  joist, 
eight  feet  six  inches.  The  measurements  must  be 
no  more,  no  less.  The  door  should  open  toward 
the  south  to  catch  the  sun,  and  above  the  doorway 
must  be  a  small  overhead  piece,  or  porch,  six  feet 
from  floor  to  ceiling.  As  I  was  fully  six  feet,  if 
not  more,  my  head  and  my  pride  received  at  first 
many  a  hard  knock  whenever  I  forgot  that  a  her- 
mit, at  least  if  he  be  tall,  must  not  walk  with  too 
haughty  a  stride.  For  the  foundation  we,  my 
faithful  adherents  and  myself,  took  four  large 
stones,  as  flat  and  even  as  we  could  find,  about  a 
foot  thick,  and  laid  them  for  the  corners,  so  that 
the  floors  of  our  huts  would  be  clear  from  the 
damp  ground ;  but,  and  this  was  not  so  desirable, 
not  only  the  smaller  wild  animals  would  creep  un- 
derneath, but  occasionally  some  straying  serpent 
would  stick  its  repulsive  head  out  at  me  and  make 
me  regret  that  a  hermit's  hut  must  needs  offer  such 
attractions  to  these  monsters. 

Upon  the  stone  foundations  the  ground  logs 
were  laid.  These  were  notched  at  the  ends  and 
fastened  with  hickory  pins.  Smaller  logs  inserted 
into  these  longer  ones  formed  the  floor  joists, 
though  in  most  cases  a  solid  log  floor  was  laid. 
The  cabin  was  then  raised  upon  the  ground  joists, 


14  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

the  logs  being  run  upon  skids  by  the  help  of 
wooden  forks,  the  corners  of  the  logs  being 
notched  so  as  to  bring  them  as  close  together  as 
possible.  In  this  work  I  could  not  give  much 
help,  for  this  notching  and  fitting  together  was 
done  by  experienced  ones,  called  the  axe,  or  cor- 
nermen. The  less  experienced  of  us  carried  the 
logs  and  ran  them  up  into  place,  the  doors  and 
windows  not  being  cut  until  all  the  logs  were  rest- 
ing snug  and  secure  in  their  places.  But  with  all 
the  care  in  fitting  the  logs  closely,  there  were 
cracks  and  crevices  that  had  to  be  filled  with  a 
mixture  of  loam  and  dry  grass,  so  that  the  cabin 
might  be  proof  against  rain  or  snow  and  not  give 
too  draughty  ventilation.  For  the  rafters  we  took 
chestnut  saplings,  hewn  flat  on  the  top,  and  these 
were  usually  covered  with  shingles  of  flat  oak, 
although  it  sometimes  occurred  that  a  temporary 
thatch  or  sod  roof  had  to  serve  until  the  oak  shin- 
gles were  prepared.  Last  of  all  came  the  fire- 
places and  chimneys.  Both  of  these  were  built  of 
loam  and  stones  outside,  at  one  end  of  the  cabin. 
Thus  from  the  simple  materials  that  lay  at  our 
hands  and  feet — the  trees,  the  stones,  and  the 
earth — our  cabins  were  built,  and  though  small 
and  insignificant  as  the  worldly-wise  consider 
things,  were  not  too  small  to  hold  heads  and  hearts 
that  thought  and  throbbed  greatly  for  God  and 
man.     No  iron  was  used,  for  as  at  Ephrata,  when 


"  PETER    THE    HERMIT  I  5 

it  came  to  be  organized  into  a  community,  we  ever 
regarded  iron  as  an  evil  metal.  The  temple  of 
Solomon  was  built  wholly  without  iron,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  Rosicrucians,  from  whom  we  had 
learned  much  concerning  the  mysteries  of  the  Infi- 
nite, we  were  taught  that  no  dwelling  or  building 
consecrated  to  the  Almighty  could  have  iron  in  it, 
as  that  metal  was  the  emblem  of  darkness  and 
destruction — nay,  of  the  Evil  One  himself. 

My  little  hut,  so  securely  built,  is  still  there, 
as  are  the  old  trees  in  the  orchard  I  planted  in 
those  early  days.  Sometimes  in  later  life,  when 
even  the  Kloster  wore  upon  me,  I  have  resorted 
to  this  sequestered  spot,  quietly  and  unbeknown 
to  the  others,  there  to  renew  my  faith  and  strength 
by  undisturbed  communion  with  God,  reading  and 
pondering  with  never  lessening  delight  upon  this 
little  page  out  of  his  wonderful  book  of  nature,  for 
it  was  a  lovely  nook,  an  ideal  retreat.  The  little 
Miihlbacky  clear  and  cold  and  sparkling  and  pure 
as  the  water  of  life,  came  dancing  joyously  down 
the  dale,  kissing  many  a  wild  flower  looking  at  its 
mirrored  sweetness  as  it  hung  over  the  bushy 
brink.  Many  a  time  have  I  wandered  along  its 
wooded  sides,  drinking  in,  in  all  its  fullness  and 
completeness,  the  solemnity,  the  holy  stillness  of 
the  long  aisles  of  stately  pine  and  heavy  fir  and 
balsam,  with  their  fragrant  odors  rising  from  this 
woodland  temple  like  incense  toward  heaven. 


16  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

The  only  sounds  that  broke  the  stillness  were 
the  murmurous  song  of  the  stream,  the  chirp  of 
insects,  and  now  and  then  the  choiring  of  the 
feathered  songsters  of  these  delightful  glades. 
Such  was  the  incomparable  spot  selected  by  me, 
now  a  recluse,  for  my  probation  and  retirement, 
and  here  I  fondly  imagined  I  might  live  in  beatific 
and  solitary  communion  with  Him ;  but  I  see  now 
that  this  blissful  idleness  was  not  to  be  mine ;  for 
his  service  means  more  than  a  mere  folding  of  the 
hands  and  pious  meditation  and  contemplation  of 
his  beauty,  his  goodness,  and  his  mercy. 

Here  I  lived  in  all  the  simplicity  that  seemed  to 
me  best  comported  with  the  life  of  a  hermit.  My 
bodily  wants,  though  oft  clamorous,  displeasing 
me  much  as  showing  how  close  I  still  was  to 
earth,  had  to  be  content  with  exceeding  little; 
my  little  cabin  sheltered  me  from  storms — a  hard 
bench  to  sleep  on,  a  long  cloak  of  most  humble 
make  and  material  to  form  my  covering  ;  for  drink, 
the  pure  water  from  a  near-by  spring,  varied  some- 
times by  acorn  coffee ;  and  for  bread  and  meat,  a 
bread  made  from  acorn  flour. 

There  may  be  those  who  care  to  know  how  this 
acorn  coffee  and  acorn  bread  were  made,  not  only 
by  me,  but  by  Brother  Beissel  and  others  who 
were  leading  lives  of  solitude  ;  and  lest  some  think 
we  were  utterly  daft  in  relying  upon  this  for  sus- 
tenance, it  may  be  said  that  it  was  not  original 


"PETER   THE    HERMIT  1 7 

with  us ;  but  we  were  taught  that  from  the  earliest 
days  of  man  the  oak,  wherever  it  grew,  furnished 
him  both  meat  and  drink  from  the  acorn  and  con- 
tained all  that  was  necessary  for  his  nourishment. 

For  making  bread  the  acorns  were  first  soaked 
in  water,  or  steamed,  to  free  the  bitterness  ;  they 
were  then  dried  and  ground  into  meal  which  was 
afterward  worked  up  in  the  usual  manner.  This 
bread,  which  we  in  German  called  Eichelbrod>  had 
as  much  sustenance  as  Pumpernickel  (a  favorite 
bread  among  the  German  peasants),  but  was  wont 
to  occasion  more  trouble  for  the  digestion. 

As  a  substitute  for  coffee  the  largest  and  sound- 
est acorns  were  selected,  only  the  thoroughly  ripe 
ones  being  used.  They  were  then  hulled  and 
taken  out  of  their  cups,  cut  into  quarters  and 
scalded  with  boiling  water,  after  which  they  were 
drained  and  allowed  to  cool.  After  being  placed 
in  a  bake  oven  until  they  were  thoroughly  dry, 
they  were  finally  roasted  and  ground,  in  which 
state  they  were  ready  for  use. 

To  make  acorn  coffee  we  would  take  about  a 
drachm  of  the  grindings  for  every  three  cups  of 
boiling  water,  which  we  poured  over  the  powdered 
acorns  and  boiled  for  about  ten  minutes.  I  must 
confess  I  never  cared  very  much  for  this  concoc- 
tion for  it  lacked  both  the  taste  and  gentle  stimu- 
lation of  the  regular  coffee.  This  acorn  coffee  was 
accredited  with  wonderful  medicinal  and  mystical 


1 8  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

properties  and  was  supposed  to  drive  all  hereditary 
taint  or  distemper  from  the  system.  Indeed,  even 
now  it  is  frequently  given  to  children  afflicted 
with  scrofula.  I  recollect  that  afterward  in  the 
early  days  of  our  community  life  at  Ephrata  there 
came  to  us  one  Jean  Francois  Regnier,  a  French- 
Switzer,  whom  we  regarded  as  a  visionary,  as  he 
claimed  to  have  been  awakened  in  his  seventh 
year  and  professed  great  holiness.  He  was  the 
special  apostle  of  the  acorn  diet,  not  only  claiming 
it  to  be  good  for  food  and  as  a  substitute  for  cof- 
fee, but  he  also  made  a  sort  of  vinegar  from  acorns 
and  an  excellent  sort  of  whiskey  which  we  used 
only  in  illness,  but  never  as  a  drink,  for  our  com- 
munity never  permitted  the  use  of  strong  liquors 
to  corrupt  the  body  and  inflame  the  imagination. 
Brother  Regnier  also  made  a  sort  of  Analeptikmn, 
or  tonic,  to  be  used  after  any  serious  illness.  For 
this  purpose  the  acorns  were  to  be  buried  when 
the  moon  was  in  a  certain  quarter,  I  forget  which, 
until  they  had  lost  their  bitterness,  after  which 
they  were  dried,  roasted,  and  powdered  and  mixed 
with  sugar  and  certain  aromatic  herbs. 

For  myself  I  never  could  see  much  in  this  acorn 
diet,  for  I  grieve  tg  say  that  all  my  life  I  have  had 
a  most  unpriestly  appetite.  I  fear  I  was  never 
made  for  scanty  fare.  Be  this  as  it  may,  I  know 
that  the  Rosicrucians  taught  that  the  oak  fur- 
nished the  first  food  for  mankind,  the  acorn  being 


"  PETER    THE    HERMIT  "  1 9 

the  meat  and  the  honey-dew  {HonigmiitJi)  the  drink. 
The  Rosicrucians  also  taught  that  the  rustle  of 
the  foliage  of  the  oak  denoted  the  presence  of  the 
Deity  and  even  at  Ephrata  the  Zionitic  Brethren 
were  wont  to  wander  in  the  forest  and  appeal  to 
the  oracles  of  the  oak,  as  the  Druids  had  done  in 
Britain  hundreds  of  years  before.  It  was  also 
fully  believed  that  when  the  time  of  the  complete 
restoration  of  brotherly  love  should  come  there 
would  come  with  it  the  primeval  simplicity,  when 
man's  entire  sustenance  would  be  drawn  from  the 
oak.  All  these  things  were  exceedingly  difficult 
for  me  to  believe,  and  I  was  even  suspected  of 
heresy  because  I  could  not  subscribe  to  these 
extravagant  beliefs. 

Thus  housed  and  fed  I  hoped  to  live  out  my 
days  ;  but  how  utterly  foolish  is  the  boasted  wis- 
dom and  foresight  of  man  ;  for  how  true  it  is  that 
we  never  know  what  a  day  may  bring  forth ! 
When  I  went  to  my  rest  one  night  not  many  days 
after  my  retirement  to  this  spot  I  had  no  thought 
but  that  here  in  this  quiet,  peaceful  retreat,  far 
away  from  the  distracting  cares  and  temptations 
of  a  gain-seeking,  pleasure-loving  world,  I  should 
live  a  calm,  serene  life,  consecrated  by  daily  com- 
munion with  Him  who  filled  it. 

In  this  mind,  while  above  the  roof  of  my  hut 
the  night  glowed  with  stars,  sown  by  my  Creator 
as  thickly  over  the  blue  fields  of  heaven  as  the 


20  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

husbanaman  scatters  his  seed  across  his  broad 
acres,  I  sank  into  sweet,  refreshing,  dreamless 
sleep  ;  and  yet  not  wholly  dreamless,  for  it  seemed 
to  me,  far  in  the  night,  I  heard  a  light  footstep 
near  and  saw  a  woman's  form  filling  the  doorway 
that  stood  open  as  was  my  habit,  night  and  day, 
and  then  I  thought  I  heard  a  cry — the  cry  of  a 
child — but  which  to  my  sleep-deadened  ears  was 
also  like  unto  the  scream  of  some  wild  creature  of 
the  dense  mountain  forest  behind  my  hut ;  for  I 
often  heard  such  cries  and  occasionally  detected  the 
stealthy  footsteps  of  the  wild  beasts  that  prowled 
near  my  dwelling,  under  the  dark  mantle  of  night ; 
but  dream  or  no  dream,  I  heard  nothing  more  and 
slept  on  undisturbed  until  the  light  of  the  dawn 
shining  through  the  doorway  bade  me  arise. 


CHAPTER  III 


SONNLEIN 


And  when  the  sun  begins  to  fling 

His  flaring  beams,  me,  Goddess,  bring 

To  arched  walks  of  twilight  groves, 

And  shadows  brown,  that  Sylvan  loves, 

Of  pine,  or  monumental  oak, 

Where  the  rude  axe  with  heaved  stroke 

Was  never  heard  the  nymphs  to  daunt, 

Or  fright  them  from  their  hallowed  haunt. 

There,  in  close  covert,  by  some  brook, 

Where  no  profaner  eye  may  look, 

Hide  me  from  day' s  garish  eye. 

— 11  Penseroso. 


HE  dawn  was  still  blush- 
ing at  the  greeting  of 
the  sun  when,  as  usual, 
I  took  my  way  with 
bowed  head  to  an  old 
monarch  pine,  my  altar, 
to  greet  the  day  with 
prayer.  Absorbed  in 
pious  meditations  I  knelt 
down  ;  but  just  as  I  was 
closing  my  eyes,  I  felt  something  lightly  strike,  or 
push,  my  knee.     Still  unheeding  I  knelt,  when  a 


22  A   TALE   OF    THE    KLOSTER 

more  vigorous  push  made  me  turn  to  see  what 
venturesome  creature  had  the  temerity  to  disturb 
my  adorations.  I  shall  never  forget  the  bewilder- 
ment that  encompassed  me  when  I  beheld  beside 
me,  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  old  pine,  the  form  of 
a  child,  almost  covered  with  leaves  and  cones. 
But  this  little  visitant,  of  earth  or  heaven,  child 
or  cherub  —  I  scarce  could  believe  mine  own 
senses !  In  truth,  I  know  not  how  long  I  knelt 
there,  mouth  agape,  eyes  wide  open  and  hands 
outstretched.  But  finally  I  recovered  myself  suf- 
ficiently to  see  that  miracle  or  no  miracle,  the 
being  was  a  reality.  And  then  brushing  aside 
the  leaves  I  scrutinized  the  little  foundling  more 
closely ;  for  sleeping  it  was,  as  sweetly  and  trust- 
fully as  if  in  the  Mutterchert s  arms,  instead  of  on 
the  hard  bosom  of  mother  earth  with  a  wilderness 
about  it.  The  little  head  with  its  tangled  mass 
of  dark,  silky  hair  was  resting  against  a  large, 
sheltering  root  that  reached  out  from  the  base  of 
the  pine,  in  a  broad,  tender  arm-like  curve  about 
the  babe.  Recently  dried  tears  had  furrowed  the 
not  over-clean  face,  flushed  with  sleep,  with  grimy 
little  water  courses.  A  stained  and  tattered  white 
baby  cloak  afforded  scanty  covering  for  the  child  ; 
for  beneath  the  frayed  edges  extended  the  poor, 
tiny,  wayworn  feet,  which,  like  the  chubby  hands, 
were  torn  and  scratched  with  thorns,  filling  my 
soul  with  pity,  and  with  indignation  at  the  wretch 


'  In  truth  I  know  not 
how  long  I  knelt  there." 
Page  22. 


SONNLEIN  23 

who  could  thus  desert  an  innocent  child ;  and  my 
wrath  was  not  diminished  when  I  felt  that  hair 
and  face  and  hands  and  feet  were  damp  with  dew. 

And  yet  the  dear  stranger  slept  on  so  uncon- 
scious of  such  trifling  things  as  dew  and  hard, 
earthen  cradle,  I  could  not  find  the  will  to 
awaken  the  little  one.  Instead,  I  turned  again 
toward  the  east  and  raising  mine  eyes  to  Him  I 
implored  and  beseeched  him,  with  all  the  power  I 
could  put  into  my  petition,  to  guide  and  direct  me 
in  the  care  and  conduct  of  this  lost,  orphaned  one ; 
for  somehow — I  never  knew  why — I  accepted  the 
idea  unhesitatingly  that  this  child  had  come  into 
my  life  to  be  a  part  of  it  to  the  end  of  my  days. 
My  prayer  ended,  I  saw  that  my  charge  still  slept. 
I  quietly  sat  down  on  a  rock  near  by  and  watched 
and  waited  for  the  awakening. 

How  long  I  sat  I  know  not,  motionless  as  to 
body  but  of  a  verity  sadly  puzzled  in  mind  as  to 
how  the  child  came  there  and  what  I  should  do 
with  it  in  my  hermit  life  amid  such  wild  surround- 
ings. From  the  leafy  coverts  about  me  came  the 
calls  and  the  chattering  of  the  birds  greeting  the 
morn  with  such  lusty  will  I  was  almost  minded  to 
join  in,  but  wisely  refrained  lest  my  heavy  voice 
arouse  the  sleeper  and  mayhap  drive  far  from  me 
the  cheerful  songsters.  A  saucy  red  squirrel  with 
waving,  rearward  plume  came  down  the  old  pine, 
stopping  now  and  then  to  bark  defiance  at  sleeper 


24 


A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 


and  watcher.  Still  nearer  the  red  rover  came, 
his  proud  plume  fairly  quivering  with  excitement. 
Once  he  rushed  down  in  a  burst  of  half-hearted 
confidence,  coming  almost  to  my  feet,  looking  up 
at  me  as  though  challenging  to  mortal  combat — 
and  then  with  might  and  main  he  scampered  back 
again,  his  long  tail  almost  brushing  the  face  of  the 
little  slumberer,  as  the  bold  tree-dweller  rushed 
far  up  into  the  branches  of  the  pine,  as  if  he  never 
again  would  be  so  rash  and  heedless. 

At  last,  however,  the  little  form  at  the  foot  of  the 
tree  moved  uneasily  and  the  yawnings  and  twist- 
ings  showed  that  the  awakening  had  come ;  and 
so  it  had.  The  little  one  sat  up  rubbing  its  eyes 
and  blinking  and  winking,  when  suddenly  it  saw 
me  and  then  such  a  full-lunged  cry  burst  forth  as 
drove  the  red  squirrel  in  precipitate  flight  far  into 
the  depths  of  the  forest  and  also  drove  me  into  a 
state  verging  upon  imbecility;  for  verily  I  knew 
not  what  to  do.  The  more  I  tried  to  soothe  the 
child,  the  louder  it  yelled  and  truly  my  patience 
was  tried  most  sorely.  But  I  have  since  learned 
that  the  cry  of  a  healthy  child,  however  lusty,  does 
not  last  long  and  so  after  many  rubbings  of  the 
eyes  and  gradually  subsiding  sobs,  and  sundry 
sniffs,  the  little  wanderer  took  out  of  my  large, 
awkward  hands  the  pretty  wild  flower  I  had 
plucked,  and  actually  laughed  as  the  big,  dark 
eyes  looked  trustfully  into  mine. 


SONNLEIN  25 

I  asked  it  in  German  to  tell  me  its  name — where 
was  the  Mutterchen  ?  but  the  big  eyes  grew  bigger 
still  and  a  quivering  of  the  underlip  warned  me  I 
was  only  frightening  the  poor  child.  If  not  Ger- 
man, surely  English,  and  again  I  asked,  and  this 
time  in  English,  "  What  is  thy  name  ? "  My  little 
visitor  looked  at  me  gravely  and  then  as  if  sur- 
prised that  I  should  not  know,  said  —  a  trifle 
crossly,  I  thought  —  what  sounded  to  me  like 
"Tass."  "  Tass  what?"  I  insisted  gently,  but 
he  only  replied  more  firmly  as  he  rose  to  his  feet 
holding  on  to  my  hand,  "  No  Tass  Wot,  Tass ! " 
And  then  as  if  a  great  thought  had  come  to  him 
he  said  proudly,  "  Me  gone  be  man  some  day;  me 
find  faver."  "Very  well,  'Tass,'  where's  Mutter- 
chen — I  mean  mother,  mamma  ? "  But  the  men- 
tion of  "mamma"  was  too  much  for  the  over- 
burdened little  heart  and  flinging  himself  into  my 
arms,  his  tiny  hands  clasping  my  neck,  he  cried  as 
if  he  never  would  be  consoled  again.  But  I  did 
the  only  thing  I  could  do,  let  him  cry ;  and  I  have 
since  learned  that  it  is  an  excellent  thing  not  only 
for  the  tiny  folk,  when  troubles  press  heavily  on 
their  little  souls,  but  even  for  us  larger  children  to 
cry  it  out  and  have  done  with  it. 

But  when  he  was  through  crying  for  the  time 
at  least  for  his  "mamma,"  another  problem  stared 
me  in  the  face  like  some  hungry  beast ;  for  the 
poor  child  cried  over  and  over  with  irritating  per- 


26  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

sistence,  "  Me  wants  sumfin  to  eat "  ;  and  "  me 
hungry "  ;  or  "  Me  want  watta,"  or  "  Me  want 
mik."  The  "watta"  I  readily  interpreted  was 
water,  which  was  soon  supplied  to  him  from  the 
fresh,  sweet  product  of  the  spring  in  the  rear  of 
my  hut ;  but  what  "  mik  "  meant  I  could  not  for 
some  time  decide ;  for  I  did  not  recollect  that  I 
had  ever  heard  such  a  word  in  German,  or  Eng- 
lish, or  Latin,  or  Greek,  or  Hebrew,  or  any  other 
language.  At  last  it  struck  me  it  was  an  English 
baby  word  for  milk.  But  I  hardly  knew  how  to 
get  him  that,  since  I  kept  no  cows  or  goats.  In 
short,  in  my  hermit's  life  I  never  saw  any  milk 
and  I  could  not  run  the  risk  of  destroying  the 
child's  stomach  with  my  acorn  coffee;  yet  I  did  not 
know  how  to  get  him  the  milk,  for  which  he  cried 
incessantly.  It  was  some  distance  to  the  nearest 
clearing  where  I  could  procure  milk  and  it  was 
much  too  far  for  him  to  walk,  and  indeed,  rather 
far  for  me  to  carry  him.  Moreover,  I  did  not 
care  as  yet  to  introduce  him  to  the  simple-minded 
but  suspicious  settlers,  for  I  knew  full  well  what 
a  harvest  of  insults  and  taunts  I  should  reap  from 
my  enemies  who  had  not  gone  out  with  me  should 
I  suddenly  appear  with  this  little  boy. 

But  if  I  could  not  take  him  along  I  did  not  see 
how  I  could  leave  him  behind.  However,  I  took 
him  into  my  hut,  and  for  the  first  time  it  seemed 
bare  and  cold  and  cheerless.     I  ventured  a  small 


SONNLEIN  2J 

piece  of  a  loaf  of  acorn  bread  on  which  my  teeth 
had  been  paying  penance  for  over  a  week.  He 
ate  the  hard  dry  crust  as  though  it  had  been  the 
choicest  morsel  and  then  calmly  announced  that 
he  wanted  "moe." 

"  Merciful  Father/'  thought  I,  "  where  am  I  to 
find  food  for  this  little  glutton  ? "  as  I  respected 
his  request  by  handing  him  such  a  generous  por- 
tion of  the  loaf  as  I  thought  would  surely  keep 
him  quiet  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

It  was  evident  I  must  take  account  of  his  appe- 
tite, and  leaving  him  in  the  hut,  closing  the  door 
behind  me  and  fastening  it  so,  as  I  thought,  that 
such  a  small  child  could  not  open  it,  I  marched 
forth  to  the  nearest  settler's,  to  one  of  the  families 
that  had  followed  me  in  my  baptism  by  Brother 
Beissel. 

After  loading  me  up  with  Szuartzbrod,  a  rough 
sort  of  rye  bread,  but  exceedingly  wholesome,  and 
with  a  small  crock  of  apple  butter  and  some  smoked 
meat  of  the  pig,  besides  giving  me  a  jug  of  fresh 
milk,  the  good  sister  remarked  with  that  inquisi- 
tive hunger  for  news  that  is  ever  present  in  the 
lonely  dwellers  of  the  wilderness,  whether  I  had 
company,  because  I  took  so  much  more  than  usual. 

In  my  confusion,  I  hurriedly  said  "  Nay,"  but 
recollecting  I  must  not  lie,  I  shouted  back  as  I 
started  off  rapidly,  "  Yea,  a  little,  not  much," 
leaving  the  good  sister  staring  at  my  retreating 


28  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

form  as  though  she  greatly  feared  much  piety  had 
made  me  mad. 

As  I  approached  the  clearing,  burdened  with  my 
rich  cargo — even  to  this  day  I  smile  when  I  think 
how  eager  and  anxious  I  was  to  get  back  and  find 
that  boy  safe — I  saw  that  the  door  of  my  hut  was 
wide  open.  I  fairly  gasped  with  apprehension. 
Had  he  been  spirited  away  as  mysteriously  as  he 
had  come  ?  I  rushed  into  the  cabin  letting  my 
load  fairly  fall  from  me  as  I  looked  about  every- 
where and  into  the  most  foolish  places  for  this 
strange  child.  Then  out  again  and  to  the  old 
pine  where  I  had  first  found  him  ;  but  he  was  not 
there ;  back  again  toward  the  hut,  my  heart  in 
my  throat,  I  went,  but  how  joy  possessed  my  soul 
when  hearing  a  gurgling  and  a  bubbling  and  a 
laughing  and  crowing  behind  me  I  turned  about 
like  a  flash  and  there  sat  the  blessed  rogue,  his 
bare  legs  and  feet  swinging  and  splashing,  kicking 
up  and  down,  in  my  spring. 

When  he  saw  me  he  looked  up  with  such  a  glad 
knowledge  of  me  that  I  forgot  to  scold  him  for  his 
vandalism  and  catching  him  in  my  arms  I  carried 
him  crowing  and  kicking  to  the  hut,  where  he 
filled  himself  so  full  with  milk  and  meat  and  the 
fresh  rye  bread  that  I  was  greatly  alarmed  imme- 
diately lest  he  might  become  ill  from  his  gorging; 
but  he  minded  it  not  in  the  least  and  ere  many 
hours  had  gone  by  was  clamoring  for  more,  so 


SONNLEIN  29 

that  I  doubted  not  the  rest  of  my  hermit  life 
would  be  spent  in  making  trips  to  the  settlements 
for  something  to  eat  for  this  hungry  mannikin. 

Indeed,  I  should  like  to  tell  of  all  his  bright 
ways  and  the  wonderful  things  he  would  say  all 
during  the  remaining  summer  we  lived  here  in 
this  lonely  spot.  At  first  he  often  cried  for 
"mamma,"  but  gradually  he  seemed  to  forget  her 
and  greatly  delighted  me  by  calling  me  "faver," 
which  in  later  years  he  changed  to  the  more  affec- 
tionate Vaterchen.  I  tried  almost  every  day  for  a 
long  while  to  get  him  to  tell  me  his  name,  but 
beyond  assuring  me  it  was  "  Tass,"  I  never  could 
learn  anything.  At  first,  I  called  him  Sdhnleiny 
but  soon  after,  upon  reflecting  that  he  was  Eng- 
lish and  not  German,  it  seemed  but  just  that  I 
should  make  his  name  at  least  half  in  his  mother 
tongue,  and  this  I  did  by  calling  him  Sonnlein,  for 
a  precious  little  son  he  was  to  me. 

The  cloak  I  preserved  most  carefully  hoping  that 
some  day  it  might  help  me  find  my  boy's  parents  ; 
especially  did  I  care  to  keep  it  because  I  had 
noticed  worked  on  it  in  pretty  red  letters  the  ini- 
tials "C.  S.,"  but  beyond  this  there  was  absolutely 
nothing  about  the  cloak  or  any  of  the  child's  cloth- 
ing in  which  I  found  him,  to  tell  who  he  was  or 
whence  he  came ;  nor  did  any  reports  come  as  to 
any  lost  child,  so  that  I  was  confirmed  in  my  first 
belief  that  he  was  mine  for  the  rest  of  my  days. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WE   LEAVE    THE    HERMITAGE 

In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall  direct 
thy  paths. 

—Bible. 


HUS  our  souls  came  closer 
and  closer  to  each  other, 
day  after  day,  and  grew 
into  a  love  that  bound  us 
together  as  one  for  life. 
It  seemed  as  though  the 
father  and  mother  love  he 
had  lost  were  all  given  to 
me  ;  for  children  must 
turn  their  love  toward 
somebody  or  something,  as  surely  as  the  rivers  run 
to  the  sea  whence  they  come.  As  for  me,  I  doubt  not 
that  the  love  which  is  in  every  man,  more  or  less, 
saint  or  sinner,  turned  me  so  strongly  toward  this 
pretty  little  fellow,  with  all  his  taking  ways,  as  if 
he  had  been  my  own  flesh  and  blood. 

In  this  sweet  companionship  we  drank  in  to- 
gether the  springtime  splendor  all  about  us,  when 
the  brook  flashed  bright  as  silver  and  the  wooded 
30 


WE    LEAVE   THE    HERMITACE  3  I 

hill  in  the  rear  of  my  hut  was  gay  with  the  songs 
of  the  little  birds,  their  delicate  harmonies  fre- 
quently emphasized  by  the  harsh  cawing  of  the 
crows  flying  in  a  thin  line  overhead,  while  from 
the  deep  recesses  of  the  forest  came  now  and  then 
the  long  drum  call  of  some  proud  partridge  calling 
to  himself  with  lordly  air,  so  I  imagined,  his 
numerous  wives,  or,  perchance,  bidding  indignant 
defiance  to  some  intruding  brother  partridge. 

But  the  glory  of  the  spring  soon  merged  into 
the  glowing  beauty  of  summer,  and  all  too  soon 
for  me  and  Sonnlein,  who  like  the  birds  and  the 
beasts  were  ever  out  of  doors,  came  the  fall,  with 
its  magnificent  coloring  of  hill  and  woods  ;  but 
none  the  less  the  shortening  days  and  the  keen  air 
were  portentous  of  the  dying  year  and  the  cold, 
dreary  winter  that  ere  long  would  shut  us  off  still 
more  from  my  followers  from  whose  visits  I  re- 
ceived such  great  comfort  and  delight. 

But  the  inevitable,  inquisitive  mischief  makers 
also  came  all  too  frequently,  and  these,  especially 
they  that  held  me  as  a  heretic,  presuming  on  my 
meekness  of  temper  could  find  no  sneer  or  taunt 
or  insult  too  mean  not  only  for  me  but  even  for 
my  innocent  boy,  who  the  malicious  ones  pre- 
tended to  believe  was  a  child  of  mine  and  some 
nameless  woman's. 

Had  my  persecutors  known  how  my  soul  raged 
within   me,  the   chains  of  my  will   being  scarce 


32  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

stout  enough  to  hold  my  wrath,  when  they  thus 
insulted  Sonnlein  and  spat  even  on  him  as  being  the 
"devil's  spawn,"  just  as  they  oft  spat  on  me,  they 
had  not  been  so  bold  ;  for  though  I  always  have 
had  the  heart  of  a  priest  my  Maker  saw  fit  to  give 
me  the  strength  and  stature  of  a  warrior,  so  that 
it  had  been  no  great  task  for  me  to  pick  up  my 
tormentors  bodily  and  hurl  them  headlong  into  the 
brook — and  at  times  I  wondered  whether  I  had 
not  been  justified  had  I  done  so.  But  my  wise 
father  had  early  impressed  on  me  that  any  weak- 
ling can  resent  injury,  while  only  a  truly  great 
nature  can  forgive ;  that  the  more  we  learn  to 
forgive,  the  more  we  grow  like  Him  who  suffered 
everything  and  forgave  all.  So  in  all  the  afflictions 
mine  enemies  heaped  upon  me,  especially  through 
my  boy,  the  chains,  I  rejoice  to  say,  always  held, 
though  greatly  strained,  and  instead  of  revenging 
myself  I  merely  uttered  an  inward  prayer  for  my 
tormentors,  and  in  the  long  years  allotted  to  me — 
so  wonderful  is  God's  wisdom — it  hath  fallen  to 
me  more  than  once  that  they  who  treated  me  so 
vilely  came  to  see  the  error  of  their  ways  and 
were  glad  thereafter  to  hold  me  in  their  esteem 
and  friendship.  Truly,  time  and  loving  patience 
conquer  all  evil. 

As  the  fall  advanced  I  found  though  I  had  left 
the  world,  the  world  had  not  left  me,  and  the 
melancholy  temptations  which  troubled  me  every 


WE    LEAVE   THE    HERMITAGE  33 

day  did  prognosticate  to  me  misery  and  afflictions, 
so  that  Sonnlein  not  infrequently  seeing  me  in 
this  gloomy  state  would  confide  to  his  playmates, 
the  birds  and  flowers,  that  I  was  cross.  Indeed,  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  under  the  pretense  of 
holiness,  I  was  doing  nothing  but  nourishing  my 
own  selfishness,  and  I  knew  full  well  that  selfish- 
ness cometh  only  from  the  Evil  One. 

But  while  I  was  in  this  state  matters  were  shaping 
themselves  for  my  redemption  from  this  narrow, 
hermit's  life  ;  for  when  I  withdrew  from  the  world 
a  number  of  brethren  and  sisters  were  living  the 
solitary  life  dispersed  in  the  wilderness  of  the 
Canestogues  ;  but  strangely  enough  and  yet  per- 
haps not  so  strange — for  the  right  human  heart 
leaneth  toward  the  companionship  of  others — 
during  the  summer  a  camp  was  laid  out  for  all  the 
Solitary  at  the  very  spot  where  now  the  Kloster 
stands,  and  where  at  that  time  Brother  Beissel,  the 
leader  of  the  hermits,  among  whom  were  the  four 
Eckerling  brothers,  lived  down  in  the  meadow, 
near  a  spring,  and  nigh  the  Cocalico,  which  name 
hath  its  ancestry  from  the  Indian  Hoch-Hale- 
kimg,  meaning  "  the  den  of  serpents,"  for  that 
the  low  lands  along  this  stream  were  infested  with 
water  snakes. 

The  little  camp  on  the  Cocalico  grew  rapidly, 
accessions  coming  from  many  directions.  The 
Germantown   Dunkers   after   the   death  of   their 

D 


34  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

patriarch,  Alexander  Mack,  a  veritable  saint,  sent 
no  less  than  seventeen  members.  Others  came 
from  Falkner  Swamp,  from  Oley  and  elsewhere,  so 
that  the  settlement  soon  grew  into  large  propor- 
tions. But  for  all  these  good  people  there  was  no 
cabin  or  house  large  enough  for  the  holding  of 
worship,  as  the  little  hermit  huts  were  barely  big 
enough  for  their  own  occupants.  The  largest 
building  within  the  Lager  was  a  cabin  built  against 
the  hillside,  wherefore  this  cabin  was  called  the 
Berghaus  (Hill-house) ;  but  even  this  was  too 
small  to  hold  the  love  feasts  and  the  meetings. 

While  matters  were  thus  progressing  on  the 
Cocalico,  I  was  greatly  surprised  one  morning,  just 
as  day  was  breaking,  to  see  Brother  Beissel  coming 
toward  my  hut,  Sonnlein  for  a  wonder  being  still 
asleep.  As  he  saw  me,  he  hastened  forward  with 
his  gentlest  smile ;  for  though  he  could  be  as  stern 
and  forbidding  as  Jove,  our  brother  could,  when  it 
pleased  him,  use  all  the  wiles  and  arts  of  Mer- 
curius  ;  so  that,  though  I  have  ever  been  loth  to 
suspect  others  of  aught  ill,  I  could  not  help  wonder- 
ing what  new  thing  was  on  foot  for  tempting  me. 

"  Surely,  my  dear  brother,  I  marvel  not  that 
thou  preferrest  this  paradise  to  our  mean  little 
place  on  the  Cocalico,"  he  said  ;  for  he  always 
affected  great  humility,  even  though  with  all  his 
godly  zeal  he  was  exceedingly  proud  and  stubborn 
and  often  harsh  and  violent. 


WE    LEAVE   THE    HERMITAGE  35 

"  Paradise  it  may  be,"  I  replied  quietly,  "  and 
yet  every  earthly  paradise  hath  its  serpent  to  lead 
the  sons  of  Adam  into  sin." 

"Thou  meanest  the  child  ?  "  he  insinuated. 

"  Nay,  not  the  child,"  1  repeated  with  unbecom- 
ing heat.  "  Were  it  not  for  his  dear  companion- 
ship I  had  been  unable  long  ago  to  remain  apart 
from  the  world." 

"  It  is  verily  true  the  hermit  life  hath  its  temp- 
tations and  tribulations,"  remarked  Brother  Beissel, 
so  quietly  I  should  not  have  suspected  anything 
had  it  not  been  he  was  watching  my  face  closely 
all  the  while.  But  with  all  my  simplicity  I  was 
not  such  an  utter  stranger  to  his  dissimulation 
that  he  could  wind  me  about  his  fingers  like  wax. 

"  So,"  I  merely  responded,  "  it  hath,  verily." 

After  a  few  minutes,  during  which  he  coughed 
lightly  a  few  times  and  scratched  the  ground  with 
his  stick,  he  inquired  indifferently,  "  Hast  heard  of 
our  change  on  the  Cocalico  ? " 

"  Naught  much,"  I  replied,  also  indifferently, 
being  determined  to  make  him  come  to  the  point, 
if  it  took  all  day,  for  I  knew  he  had  something  at 
heart  which  in  good  time  I  should  hear. 

"  Hast  heard  we  have  almost  completed  a  large 
building  where  our  Brothers  and  Sisters  may  wor- 
ship ?"  he  inquired. 

"  I  have  heard  so,"  I  made  answer,  still  with 
seeming  indifference. 


36  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

And  then  he  paused  even  longer  than  before 
and  scratched  the  earth  thoughtfully,  neither  of  us 
saying  a  word.  Then  he  resumed  as  though  partly 
speaking  to  himself  and  partly  to  me:  "This  house 
which  we  have  erected  to  the  glory  of  God  we 
have  called  Kedar,  'the  house  of  sorrowfulness'" ; 
after  another  pause,  "  it  containeth  a  hall  for  the 
meetings  and  likewise  still  larger  halls  furnished 
for  holding  the  love  feasts.  There  are  also  a 
number  of  Rammers  intended  for  the  Solitary, 
after  the  manner  of  the  early  Greek  Church." 

"Ye  have  built  wisely,"  I  said,  still  quietly. 

Then  the  longest  pause  of  all,  at  the  end  of 
which  he  placed  his  hands  meekly  across  his 
breast,  saying  to  me  as  he  turned  about  to  leave : 
"When  thou  art  minded  to  leave  thy  hermit's  life, 
we  shall  give  thee  welcome  at  Ephrata." 

He  had  actually  proceeded,  but  slowly  as  if  in 
deep  thought,  almost  beyond  the  farther  boundary 
of  my  little  orchard,  when  he  turned  about  gravely 
and  came  back  again  like  one  who  had  forgotten 
something.  "  Now,"  thought  I,  "  shall  I  see  the 
kernel  of  the  nut  he  hath  been  cracking"  ;  for  I  had 
not  stirred,  knowing  he  would  return,  and  as  he 
came  toward  me  he  said,  watching  me  closely :  "  Our 
good  Brother  Michael  Wohlforth  exhorteth  the  Sol- 
itary with  exceeding  harshness  and  violence." 

"  Still  they  should  heed  him  for  I  hear  he  is  a 
godly  man,"  I  replied. 


WE    LEAVE   THE    HERMITAGE  37 

"  But  Brother  Weiser  and  his  followers  can  no 
longer  bear  Brother  Michael  Wohlforth's  temper." 

"A  little  temper  will  not  hurt  the  Solitary." 

"  But  Brother  Wohlforth  hath  been  recalled  as 
teacher,"  continued  Brother  Beissel. 

"  There  be  many  among  you  to  take  his  place," 
I  assured  him. 

"  Nay,  not  so  many,  for  upon  the  recalling  of 
Brother  Wohlforth,  he  was  succeeded  by  Brother 
Emanuel  Eckerling." 

"  A  worthy  man,"  I  said  strongly. 

"  But  he  preacheth  too  long  ;  sometimes  he  dis- 
coursed even  six  hours  without  a  stop." 

"  Surely  he  is  of  most  excellent  zeal,"  I  mur- 
mured, smiling  inwardly. 

"  The  Solitary  incline  to  think  six  hours  be  too 
long  even  for  preaching,"  said  Brother  Beissel 
doubtfully. 

"  Six  hours'  preaching  doth  seem  of  rather  great 
length,"  I  admitted ;  "  still  an  eloquent  man  mak- 
eth  the  time  fly  on  swift  wings." 

"  But  our  good  Brother  Emanuel  is  not  eloquent. 
Before  he  hath  spoken  half  an  hour,  most  of  the 
Solitary  be  asleep,  so  that  this  thing  is  a  great  dis- 
grace to  us." 

"  Surely  the  Brethren  are  not  so  rude  and  un- 
godly ? "  I  asked  innocently. 

"Yea,  I  grieve  that  he  too  was  recalled,  and 
now  we  have  no  one  that  seemeth  suitable." 


38  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"  Thou  hast  forgotten  thyself,"  I  reminded  him. 

But  he  felt  not  the  point.  Instead  he  blurted 
out  as  I  liked  better  to  hear  him,  forgetting  all  his 
serpent's  slyness — which  I  dislike  greatly  in  man 
or  woman — "  We  want  thee,  Brother  Miller.  The 
Solitary  all  want  thee.  We  must  have  thee.  I  am 
enjoined  not  to  return  without  thee."  Brother 
Beissel  could  be  just  as  outspoken  as  he  could  be 
insinuating.     "  What  sayest  thou  ? " 

"  Doth  the  invitation  extend  to  the  child  ?  "  said 
I  pointing  to  my  boy  who  had  by  this  time  come 
out  to  me  and  was  hanging  shyly  to  my  hand,  and 
looking  with  no  great  favor  upon  Brother  Beissel. 

"  If  needs  be  he  come  with  thee,  the  invitation 
extends  to  him,"  he  replied,  although  I  thought 
reluctantly. 

"  Then  we  come,"  I  promised  him,  whereupon 
our  brother  turned  to  say  "  Good-bye,"  but  the 
strange  feeling  between  Sonnlein  and  Brother 
Beissel,  for  some  reason  or  other  never  wholly 
left  either. 

But  even  though  I  had  chosen  with  so  little 
hesitation  to  cast  my  lot  and  Sonnlein's  with  our 
Brothers  and  Sisters  at  Ephrata,  I  found  that  my 
hermit's  life,  with  all  its  lack  of  companionship 
and  intercourse  with  kindred  souls  was  after  all 
very  dear  to  me,  so  that  I  was  almost  resolved  to 
recall  my  promise ;  but  in  my  bewilderment  I 
turned  to  Him  for  help  and  guidance,  and  after 


WE   LEAVE   THE    HERMITAGE  39 

long  and  earnest  prayer  it  became  clear  to  me  it 
was  my  duty  that  Sonnlein  and  I  join  ourselves  to 
Brother  Beissel  and  his  followers. 

The  simple  preparations  for  our  departure  were 
soon  made.  My  hut  and  the  little  garden  adjoin- 
ing and  my  apple  orchard  were  consigned  to  the 
care  of  one  of  my  nearest  adherents,  and  in  a  few 
days  after  Brother  Beissel's  visit,  Sonnlein  and  I, 
my  back  loaded  with  my  books,  among  them  a 
number  of  volumes  on  the  law,  of  which  science  I 
have  been  all  my  life  an  eager  student,  started  out 
together  sorrowfully  enough  for  Brother  Klopf's 
cabin,  where  he  and  his  household,  as  well  as 
Conrad  Weiser  and  Hans  Michael  Miller  and  their 
families,  and  several  men  and  women  were  gath- 
ered waiting  for  me  and  Sonnlein. 

A  brief  season  of  the  morning  was  spent  in 
praise  and  prayer,  after  which  we  solemnly  pro- 
ceeded on  foot — except  Sonnlein,  who  had  to  be 
carried  much  of  the  way  on  our  backs — to  Ephrata, 
and  by  evening  we  were  in  the  welcoming  folds 
of  the  little  community  of  which  Sonnlein  and  I 
and  most  of  the  Dulpehackin  converts  became  an 
abiding  part. 


CHAPTER  V 


EPHRATA 


That  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceful  life  in  all  godli- 
ness and  honesty. 

— New  Testament. 


N  this  wise  Sonnlein  and 
I  came  to  Ephrata,  the 
"  fruitful,"  or  like  Beth- 
lehem of  Judea,  the 
"  House  of  Bread,"  and 
in  this  beautiful,  peace- 
ful camp,  whose  narrow 
domains  embraced  the 
rich,  green  meadows 
along  the  northern 
banks  of  the  gentle  Co- 
calico  and  the  higher  ground,  named  by  us  Mount 
Sinai,  rising  from  the  meadows,  Sonnlein  and  I 
were  destined  to  learn,  after  the  long  lapse  of 
years,  the  mystery  of  his  coming  to  me.  Surely, 
then,  I  may  look  for  forgiveness  if  at  times  I  delay 
my  story  to  tell  somewhat  of  the  manner  of  our 
life  with  the  rest  of  the  Solitary  in  this  little 
forest-hidden  corner  of  our  large  world. 
4o 


EPHRATA  41 

When  our  little  party  arrived  at  Ephrata,  we 
received  a  grave  but  none  the  less  soul-satisfying 
welcome  ;  but  as  the  Solitary  always  had  great 
regard  for  the  value  of  time,  we  new-comers,  with- 
out waiting  to  be  bid,  at  once  added  our  labors 
toward  the  completion  of  Kedar,  which  though  by 
now  was  under  roof,  was  unprepared  for  its  sacred 
purposes. 

I  fear  no  contradiction  when  I  state  that  this 
structure  was  different  from  anything  then  to  be 
found  in  the  New  World.  As  in  the  building  of 
our  cabins,  there  was  no  iron  whatever  used  in  the 
construction  of  Kedar.  The  material  used  was 
the  timber  we  cut  from  the  trees  in  the  forest 
about  us.  The  spaces  between  the  framework  and 
the  floor  joists  were  filled  with  wet  clay  from  the 
banks  of  the  Cocalico  and  cut  grass  from  the 
meadow,  the  sides  then  being  coated  with  a  thin 
layer  of  lime  prepared  from  the  rocks  near  by. 
This  filling  was  a  peculiarity  also  of  all  our  large 
later  structures  and  had  the  advantage  that  it  made 
the  house  warm  in  winter  and  cool  in  summer,  and 
what  was  also  exceedingly  desirable,  this  filling 
was  impervious  to  vermin.  Incredible  as  it  may 
seem,  even  our  fireplaces  and  chimneys  were  built 
of  wood  and  lined  with  this  mixture. 

In  height,  Kedar  was  of  three  stories,  of  which 
the  chief  one  was  in  the  middle.  This  contained 
the  Saaly  or  meeting  room,  as  well  as  the  rooms 


42  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

necessary  for  holding  the  agapae>  or  love  feasts. 
The  first  story,  or  ground  floor,  was  divided  off 
into  small  rooms  or  cells  called  Kammem,  for  the 
Solitary.  These  cells  were  so  exceedingly  small 
that  the  Solitary  had  barely  room  to  turn  about 
though  there  was  but  one  Solitary  to  each  Kammer. 
The  white  walls,  in  their  symbolism  of  heavenly 
purity,  were  utterly  bare  of  ornament.  There 
were  no  paintings  or  pictures,  magnificent  or  other- 
wise ;  in  their  stead  the  occupant  of  his  narrow  cell 
had  but  to  look  out  of  the  only  window,  glass  and 
small,  and  soothe  his  longing  by  gazing  on  a  most 
glorious  picture  of  rich  meadow,  sparkling  stream, 
waving  forests,  dim,  distant  mountains,  and  blue 
sky  above,  all  painted  and  framed  for  us  by  Infinite 
power  and  love.  The  only  furniture  was  the  hard, 
narrow,  wooden  bench  that  ran  at  a  right  angle 
along  the  length  and  the  adjacent  width,  and  on 
these  religiously  uncomfortable  beds,  with  their 
flesh-mortifying  wooden  blocks  for  pillows,  the 
Solitary,  after  their  daily  toil,  could  sleep,  unvexed 
by  troublesome  consciences,  with  such  peace  and 
refreshing  as  many  a  king  in  all  his  idle  luxury 
might  well  envy.  The  only  mitigation  against  the 
chilling  winter  was  our  daily  dress  and  the  heat 
that  sometimes  drifted  in  to  us  from  the  fire-place 
in  the  little  hall  at  the  end  of  the  narrow  corridors 
leading  into  the  Kammem. 

The  uppermost  story  of  Kedar  was  given  to  the 


EPHRATA  43 

spiritual  virgins  who  had  pledged  themselves  to  a 
communal  life.  Shortly  after,  the  ground  floor 
was  handed  over  to  the  strictest  of  the  single 
Brethren  for  a  similar  purpose,  these  being  Broth- 
ers Wohlforth,  Meyle,  Just,  and  Theonis,  while 
two  of  the  Eckerlings,  Israel  and  Gabriel,  as  well 
as  Brother  Kalckglaser  and  Sonnlein  and  myself, 
as  being  the  most  important  in  the  community, 
outside  of  Brother  Beissel,  who  occupied  his  little 
cabin  in  the  meadow,  were  quartered  in  the 
Berghaus. 

Even  before  Kedar  was  wholly  finished,  Nacht- 
metten,  or  night  meetings,  were  instituted  by  the 
Solitary.  These  were  religious  meetings  held 
every  midnight ;  for  it  was  at  that  hour  the  great 
Judge  was  expected  to  come.  At  first  they  lasted 
four  hours  from  midnight,  but  as  this  allowed  so 
little  time  for  necessary  rest,  two  hours  were  held 
sufficient.  It  was  arranged  that  the  Brethren 
should  hold  their  devotions  first  at  these  night 
meetings  and  after  they  had  filed  out  of  the  Saal 
the  Sisters  would  enter  for  their  hour  of  prayer ; 
but  this  was  soon  changed  so  that  the  midnight 
prayers  were  held  jointly.  This  arrangement  soon 
gave  rise  to  such  gossip  and  scandal  among  the  ene- 
mies of  our  community  that  Brother  Beissel  exhorted 
the  Brothers  and  Sisters  to  pray  earnestly  that 
these  evil-minded  ones  might  still  their  tongues ; 
but  though  we  prayed  earnestly  and  in  all  faith 


44  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

these  gossiping  tongues  were  something  even 
prayer  and  faith  could  not  stop  and  so  after  these 
joint  meetings  had  continued  a  few  months  our  good 
Brother  Sigmund  Landert  proposed  to  Brother  Beis- 
sel  that  Kedar  should  be  kept  exclusively  as  a  Sister 
House,  in  which  event  Brother  Landert  promised 
he  would  out  of  the  wealth  God  had  vouchsafed 
him,  build  a  house  adjoining  Kedar,  the  new  struc- 
ture to  be  used  exclusively  for  assembly  purposes, 
provided,  however,  that  he  and  his  two  daughters 
be  received  into  the  settlement. 

Though  Brother  Beissel  objected  at  first,  mat- 
ters so  arranged  themselves  finally  that  through 
the  generosity  and  devotion  of  Brother  Landert 
and  another  Brother,  Hermann  Zinn,  a  large 
edifice  was  constructed  on  the  hillside,  the  Bet/iaus, 
House  of  Prayer.  Besides  the  large  Saal  for  joint 
meetings  and  public  worship  there  were  ample 
room  for  the  love  feasts,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
completion  of  the  Bethaus  the  Saal  was  the  largest 
and  most  imposing  room  for  public  worship  in  the 
province.  At  one  end,  toward  the  east  of  the  Saal, 
was  a  raised  platform  for  the  gray-bearded  fathers, 
while  on  either  side  of  the  length  of  the  Saal  ran 
the  Por-kirchen,  or  galleries  for  the  Solitary,  the 
Brothers  sitting  on  one  side  and  the  Sisters  on  the 
other.  The  body,  or  main  floor  of  the  Saal,  was 
for  the  secular  members,  or  householders,  as  we 
called  them  ;  for  be  it  known  our  community  was 


EPHRATA  45 

not  composed  entirely  of  Brothers  and  Sisters 
pledged  to  lives  of  celibacy,  but  in  addition  to 
these  we  had  a  large  number  of  members  from  the 
country  round  about  us,  husbands  and  wives  and 
their  children,  who  believed  as  we  did,  that  the 
Seventh  Day  was  the  true  Lord's  Day,  and  who 
differed  from  us  in  belief  in  this  only  that  they 
practised  not  celibacy. 

The  BetkauSy  like  Kedar,  was  built  entirely  of 
wood,  and  clay  and  grass  for  the  filling,  the  walls 
inside  being  made  snowy  white  with  lime,  the  only 
decoration  being  a  number  of  proverbs  and  sen- 
tences of  Scripture  written  in  ornamental  German 
characters,  in  script,  known  as  Fracturschrift, 
which  became  famous  far  and  wide  for  its  beauty, 
and  even  now,  after  the  passage  of  over  half  a 
century,  these  proverbs  and  sentences  remain  on 
the  walls  of  our  meeting-houses  as  clear  and 
beautiful  as  the  day  they  were  first  written. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  Bethaus,  the  Brethren 
who  had  been  quartered  on  the  ground  floor  of 
Kedar  were  again  relegated  to  the  cabins  and 
henceforth  Kedar  was  handed  over  to  the  Sister- 
hood, and  the  Saal  upon  the  second  floor  now 
became  the  chapel  of  the  Order  of  the  Spiritual 
Virgins,  and  from  that  time  on,  while  the  night 
meetings  of  the  Sisters  were  held  in  the  Saal  of 
Kedar,  the  Brethren  Vield  their  meetings  in  the 
Saal  of  the  Bethaus  for  a  number  of  years. 


46  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Thus,  these  buildings  were  the  foundation  for  a 
more  perfect  communal  life  and  in  pursuance  of 
which  all  the  provisions  were  delivered  to  the 
Sisters  in  their  kitchen,  who  daily  prepared  a  supper 
for  the  entire  settlement,  in  the  large  dining  hall> 
the  Brothers  and  Sisters  divided  from  each  other 
by  a  screen,  everything  being  done  in  order  and  rev- 
erence according  to  the  leading  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

About  this  time  too  occurred  the  first,  so  far  as 
I  know,  of  those  mysterious  manifestations  that 
for  so  many  years  were  a  great  bewilderment  and 
anxiety  not  so  much  to  the  rest  of  the  community 
as  to  me,  for  that  with  rare  exceptions  it  chanced 
I  must  be  the  chief  witness  of  the  doings  of  this 
strange  being  that  so  long  harassed  us. 

Even  before  Kedar  was  fully  completed — being, 
however,  far  enough  advanced  for  dedication  to 
its  glorious  purposes — Brother  Beissel  made  great 
preparations  for  a  general  love  feast ;  and  Ein~ 
lader,  or  inviters,  were  sent  throughout  the  prov- 
ince, especially  among  all  the  German  Baptists 
and  English  Sabbatarians,  requesting  them  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  dedicatory  services.  As  the  time 
approached,  ample  preparations  were  made  for  a 
great  multitude ;  for  from  all  the  reports  brought 
unto  us  by  our  messengers  we  could  not  doubt 
but  that  there  would  be  a  great  gathering  in  our 
humble  little  community  to  take  part  in  the  dedi- 
cation, and  to  this  day — and  I  like  not  to  be  con- 


EPHRATA  47 

sidered  superstitious — I  cannot  account  for  the 
failure  of  the  dedication  other  than  through  this 
mysterious  influence ;  for  as  a  matter  of  fact  but 
few  strangers  presented  themselves,  the  only  ex- 
ception being  that  quite  a  number  of  English  Sab- 
batarians from  the  French  Creek  visited  us  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  exercises. 

But  not  only  were  we  greatly  depressed  by  the 
failure  of  the  invited  ones  to  come  and  add  to  the 
glory  of  the  occasion  their  presence  and  their 
praise  and  prayer,  but  the  night  preceding  the 
love  feast  was  exceedingly  dark  and  cloudy.  More- 
over, as  the  darkness  grew  the  clouds  seemed  to 
gather  heavier  and  heavier  overhead,  so  that  to- 
ward midnight  the  gloom  and  depression  were 
almost  overpowering,  so  much  so  that  about  an 
hour  before  midnight,  Sonnlein  being  sound  asleep, 
I  arose — so  unaccountably  disturbed  and  troubled 
I  could  not  sleep — and  made  my  way,  why  or  how 
I  know  not,  for  I  seemed  almost  as  one  walking  in 
his  sleep,  toward  the  cabin  where  Brother  Beissel 
was  slumbering  down  in  the  meadow.  Suddenly, 
although  I  saw  not  his  little  hut,  I  heard  a  howl 
like  one  in  pain  coming  from  the  direction  where 
I  knew  our  brother's  hut  should  be.  Then  an- 
other cry  as  in  pain  and  a  sound  as  if  some  one 
were  beating  another  with  great  force  and  violence. 
I  rushed  blindly  on  in  the  darkness  stumbling 
and  floundering  until  ere  I  knew  it  I  had  run  up 


43  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

against  what  with  feeling  around  I  found  to  be 
a  hut.  From  within  came  moans  and  groans  but 
the  beating  had  ceased  while  with  the  moaning 
and  groaning  were  mingled  a  sort  of  snarling  and 
growling  and  muttering  as  of  some  wild  beast.  I 
had  just  reached  the  doorway,  the  door  being  wide 
open,  when  suddenly  there  rushed  out  a  some- 
thing which  as  it  passed  struck  me  a  most  violent 
blow  across  the  eyes  fairly  staggering  me  so  that 
all  I  could  do  was  to  make  a  wild  clutch  at  the 
beast,  or  fiend,  that  was  now  speeding  away  leav- 
ing a  trail  of  snarlings  and  growlings  and  cack- 
lings  such  as  human  being  could  scarce  make. 

Recovering  from  the  smarting  blow  over  my 
eyes,  I  groped  my  way  inside  only  to  hear  Brother 
Beissel  say  feebly,  "Art  come  again,  thou  Prince 
of  Darkness,  to  persecute  me  ?  " 

"  Tis  not  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  brother ; 
whatever  hath  been  here  hath  fled ;  'tis  Brother 
Miller,"  whereupon  with  all  his  bravery  he  leaned 
against  me  for  support,  seeming  to  find  great  com- 
fort in  my  being  there. 

"  Surely  the  Evil  One  hath  troubled  me  most 
sorely  this  night,"  said  our  leader  more  strongly 
now. 

"  But  I  smell  not  brimstone  or  fire,  brother;  dost 
thou  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Nay,  but  I  tell  thee  'twas  the  foul  fiend  himself ; 
most  grievously  did  he  beat  me  with  his  long  tail." 


EPHRATA  49 

"With  his  tail,  brother — surely  thou  meanest 
not  that  ?"  I  protested. 

"  But  I  tell  thee  Beelzebub  took  his  tail  in  his 
claws  and  beat  me.  Did  I  not  see  him  in  all  the 
darkness,  lift  his  forked  tail  on  high  and  bring  it 
down  on  me ;  and  all  the  while  he  spat  and  snarled 
as  though  he  were  about  to  rend  me  asunder." 

"  Why  didst  not  cross  thyself  ?  " 

"The  foul  one  came  so  sudden.  I  verily  believe 
he  rose  up  through  the  floor.  I  heard  him  not 
open  the  door  and  I  sleep  lightly." 

"  Yet  thy  door  was  open  wide  when  I  found  thy 
hut ;  and  if  'twas  the  devil,  he  left  not  the  way  thou 
sayest  he  came ;  for  devil  or  beast  as  it  rushed  out 
the  door,  this  evil  thing  struck  me  across  the  face 
so  it  still  burneth." 

"  'Twas  the  Prince  of  Evil,"  still  persisted  Brother 
Beissel ;  "  full  well  he  seeth  how  we  are  shaking 
the  walls  of  his  foul  kingdom.  He  thinketh  to 
terrify  us  all  by  assailing  me,  your  leader,"  and 
even  in  the  darkness  of  the  cabin  I  could  see  our 
commander  straighten  himself  up  as  though  he 
feared  not  a  legion  of  devils,  and  in  truth,  Brother 
Beissel  feared  neither  man  nor  devil,  and  I  know 
now  that  it  was  my  brother's  undaunted  will  and 
courage  more  than  aught  else  that  ever  gave  him 
such  sway  over  my  gentler,  cowardly  nature. 

Knowing  he  was  firm  in  his  belief  I  cared  not 
to  dispute  with  him  then  that  I  thought  it  might 


50  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

not  be  the  Evil  One ;  but  that,  perhaps,  some  wild 
animal  had  strayed  into  his  hut  or  else  some  of 
our  enemies  had  taken  this  dark  night  for  an 
opportunity  to  beat  him,  it  being  well  known  that 
among  the  German  settlers  were  those  who  were 
greatly  incensed  at  our  leader  for  that  the  wives 
of  some  of  them  had  left  their  homes  and  joined 
the  spiritual  virgins ;  and,  indeed,  there  were  those 
who  upon  hearing  of  the  matter  the  next  day  de- 
clared that  no  doubt  our  leader  had  been  per- 
secuted by  some  one  of  our  unfriendly  neighbors. 
But  most  of  the  Solitary  were  just  as  firm  in  the 
belief  which  our  leader  unhesitatingly  proclaimed, 
that  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  being  greatly  exer- 
cised with  our  inroads  into  his  kingdom  had  sought 
our  leader  in  person,  thinking  no  doubt  to  terrify 
him  from  further  fighting  against  the  powers  of 
sin.  Be  that  as  it  may,  while  I  at  the  time  hardly 
knew  which  side  to  join  with,  I  myself  felt  certain 
in  later  years  that  our  community  in  the  person  of 
Brother  Beissel  had  received  the  first  manifesta- 
tion of  that  evil  influence  I  had  such  good  cause 
to  dread  for  so  many  years. 


CHAPTER  VI 


CONCERNING    TAXATION 


E'  en  if  a  vicious  man  were  like  a  leaky  vat, 
That  wastes  what  it  receives,  pour  in,  for  all  that ! 
If  vat  and  man  are  not  in  too  decrepit  plight, 
Keep  pouring  in  thy  gifts.     How  soon  a  crack  soaks 
tight. 

— Lessing. 

ND  now,  early  in  the  year 
I737>  occurred  a  matter 
which  hath  been  held 
up  against  our  commu- 
nity as  a  great  reproach ; 
for  by  reason  of  this 
thing,  which  I  shall  set 
out  fully,  hewing  to  the 
line,  caring  not  whither 
the  chips  may  fall,  we 
were  regarded  by  many 
who  were  ignorant  of  the  truth,  as  disturbers  of  the 
peace  ;  others  accusing  us  of  being  misers,  while 
still  others  went  so  far  in  their  condemnation  as  to 
hold  us  guilty  of  nothing  less  than  treason. 

The  whole  trouble  arose  out  of  what  was  known 
as  the  "  Single  Men's  Tax,"  our  province  having 

5i 


52  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

passed  an  Act  some  twelve  years  prior  to  our  first 
introduction  to  it,  providing  that  "  those  single  men 
whose  estates  shall  not  be  rated  at  fifty  pounds, 
they  shall  be  assessed  after  the  rate  of  three  shil-. 
lings  a  head  upon  a  tax  of  one  penny  per  pound, 
both  for  poor  rates  and  city  and  county  levies." 

There  were  then,  as  before  and  ever  since,  those 
who  had  no  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  religion,  no 
appreciation  for  what  religion  preserves  better  than 
all  our  courts  and  justices,  namely,  the  safety  and 
security  of  the  State,  For,  let  it  be  known  to 
our  credit,  though  we  like  not  to  boast  of  ourselves, 
we  on  the  Cocalico  did  not  spend  all  our  time  in 
pious  devotions  and  speculations  upon  the  mysteries 
of  the  infinite.  Hard  manual  labor  marked  much 
of  our  lives,  and  I  glory  to  say  that  this  labor  was 
not  for  ourselves  alone.  Up  to  this  time,  indeed, 
works  of  charity  had  been  our  chief  occupation. 
Canestogues  was  then  a  great  wilderness,  but  a 
wilderness  into  which  many  a  poor  German  settler 
came  to  cut  out  of  the  deep  woods  a  little  clearing 
for  his  grain,  and  to  build  a  log  cabin  he  could  call 
his  home.  These  poverty-stricken  brethren  from 
the  Vaterland  often  called  upon  us  to  assist  them 
in  building  houses  for  them.  To  these  calls  we 
always  responded,  and  for  many  a  summer  we 
were  kept  continually  employed  in  hard  carpenter's 
work,  so  that  by  this  too  great  consideration  for 
the  needs  of  our  poor  neighbors  our  own  poverty 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  53 

was  so  increased  that  we  wanted  even  things  neces- 
sary for  life. 

Not  only  did  we  build  their  homes  and  help 
them  till  the  soil-  but  we  also  bestowed  such  great 
care  on  our  lands  in  the  plowing,  sowing,  and 
reaping,  that  we  often  were  blessed  with  such  rich 
harvests  that  out  of  our  bounty  we  supplied  the 
poor  for  miles  around  with  grain  and  flour,  when 
their  own  crops,  through  inexperience,  or  improvi- 
dence, or  rust,  or  drought,  had  failed. 

Substantial  assistance  was  never  refused  to  such 
as  needed  it.  The  Solitary,  whether  sister  or 
brother,  always  imbued  with  God's  priceless  gift 
of  charity,  were  swift  of  foot  to  all  calls  of  mercy 
and  humanity.  In  the  early  days  of  our  Kloster 
life  we  would  not  employ  any  four-footed  animals 
to  do  our  heavy  work,  thinking  it  unchristian  to 
put  on  them  what  we  should  ourselves  bear ;  and 
thus  all  our  hauling  and  carrying  and  plowing 
was  done  by  our  own  hands  and  feet  and  with  our 
own  backs.  I  recall  full  well  how  the  Brethren 
and  the  Sisters,  instead  of  mules  and  oxen,  pulled 
the  plows  through  the  hard  soil  of  our  fields  for 
the  planting  and  sowing.  Our  life  being  orderly 
and  systematic,  we  had  time  for  devotions,  and  for 
work,  and  for  charity,  each  receiving  its  due  pro- 
portion, but  the  greater  proportion  falling  to  works 
of  charity  and  benevolence.  Indeed,  this  was  the 
chief  reason,  and  not  because  of  any  foolish  super- 


54  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

stitions,  that  the  greater  part  of  our  devotions  were 
held  at  night. 

But  though  we  lived  in  this  primitive  manner  of 
the  early  Christians  and  did  all  these  works  of 
charity,  yet  there  was  a  number  of  persons  who 
appreciated  not  our  charity,  or  our  stern  but  sim- 
ple piety,  and  the  hardships  of  our  mode  of  life. 

Such  was  the  township  constable,  who,  hungry 
for  his  worldly  fees,  was  bent  upon  making  the 
Brethren  pay  this  "  Single  Men's  Tax."  With  this 
purpose  the  worthy  dignitary,  much  swollen  with 
the  importance  of  his  high  office,  descended  upon 
us  one  day,  as  a  chicken  hawk  swoops  down  upon 
some  unsuspecting  domestic  fowl,  and  with  a  loud 
voice  and  boisterous  manner  demanded  that  we 
pay  the  tax,  all  the  while  shaking  his  head  and 
holding  his  nose  in  the  air  as  if  he  already  scented 
the  fees  that  would  fill  his  rapacious  pockets. 

His  coming,  and  more  his  loud,  gruff  manner, 
threw  great  consternation  into  our  hitherto  peace- 
ful camp.  Brother  Martin  at  first  sight  of  the  fat 
impressiveness  of  the  bloated  form  of  the  con- 
stable, and  on  hearing  his  loud  voice  of  command, 
shrank  behind  me  and  whispered  timidly,  "  Is't  the 
king  come  for  his  tax  ?  " 

"  King !  thou  simple  one ! "  I  scowled  at  him, 
"  King's  fool,  more  like  ! "  for  I  did  not  much  ad- 
mire the  overbearing  airs  of  this  unmannerly  tax 
collector,  who,  like  many  another  of   his  stripe, 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  55 

evidently  thought  because  we  were  a  plain,  simple 
folk,  we  were  easily  frightened  by  the  show  of  any 
authority  of  the  law,  especially  when  emphasized 
by  bulk  and  big  voice  in  the  representative.  But 
our  bawling  officer  soon  found  that  while  we  were 
ever  a  law-abiding  people,  not  seeking  to  quarrel 
with  any  one,  yet  we  were  not  accustomed  to  hide 
in  terror  every  time  the  law  appeared ;  so  instead 
of  rushing  forth  in  great  haste  with  our  taxes  in 
our  hands  and  beseeching  the  collector  to  accept 
them  and  leave  us  in  peace,  Brother  Beissel,  un- 
heeding the  constable's  commands  to  hurry  up  and 
not  delay  him,  summoned  all  the  Solitary  Brethren 
to  the  Saal  to  have  our  views  in  the  matter.  And 
at  once  there  were  formed  two  opposing  parties ; 
one,  headed  by  Brother  Weiser — or  Brother  Enoch 
as  was  his  cloistral  name — arguing  that  it  was  just 
and  right  to  pay  unto  Caesar  his  tribute  as  com- 
manded by  Scripture,  and  counseling  that  the  tax 
be  paid  and  thus  all  trouble  be  avoided.  The  con. 
trary  party,  of  which  I  was  the  chosen  head,  con- 
tended the  assessments  should  not  be  paid,  because 
by  our  manner  of  life  we  were  entitled  to  immu- 
nity from  all  taxation.  And  to  support  this  I  re- 
minded my  brethren  that  in  the  Eastern  countries 
monks  and  hermits  paid  no  taxes,  it  being  a  matter 
of  well-known  history  that  when  the  monks  and 
hermits  collected  by  their  labors  every  harvest  so 
much  grain  as  to  supply  regularly  all  the  prisons 


56  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

in  Alexandria  with  bread,  Theodosius  Magnus  and 
other  Christian  emperors  declared  all  such  monks 
and  hermits  free  from  taxes.  I  could  not  see  that 
we  were  in  any  wise  inferior  to  the  ancient  hermits, 
and  if  not,  it  were  contrary  to  custom  to  deny  us 
the  same  immunity. 

Brother  Beissel  interrupted  loudly,  forgetting 
his  usual  subtility,  "  Brother  Jabez,  I  doubt  much 
whether  our  constable  will  feel  bounden  by  the 
practices  of  the  early  church." 

"That  I  will  not,"  growled  the  constable,  who 
had  been  admitted  to  the  council ;  "  the  Act  does 
set  forth  the  tax  must  be  paid,  and  the  tax  will  I 
have  ere  I  leave." 

"  But  the  Act  doth  not  apply  to  us,  I  tell  thee, 
or  else  I  should  counsel  immediate  obedience  to 
thy  demands,"  I  said  as  calmly  as  I  could ;  "  we 
refuse  not  to  pay  this  paltry  tribute  because  we 
care  overmuch  for  the  little  money  we  have ;  but 
we  do  not  think  it  right  for  us  to  pay." 

"  Of  that  I  know  not,"  came  another  cavernous 
growl  from  the  depths  of  the  constable.  "  I  know 
I  leave  not  till  I  am  paid  the  tax." 

"Well,  I  for  one  shall  pay  it  not,"  I  cried  out. 
"  If  our  Kloster  labors  were  merely  for  the  enrich- 
ment of  our  coffers,  then  I  should  pay  the  tax  as 
being  my  share  of  the  support  of  the  province. 
But  we  work  not  for  ourselves  further  than  is 
necessary  for  our  slender  needs.     The  overflow 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  5 J 

of  our  abundance  hath  ever  gone  to  the  poor  and 
needy  settlers  far  and  wide.  If  we  came  not  to 
the  relief  of  these,  then  would  the  province  have 
the  burden  of  their  support.  In  all  ages  it  hath 
been  the  custom  and  the  law  to  grant  immunity 
of  taxation  to  the  church  and  to  those  whose  lives 
are  spent  in  charity.  I  say  I  shall  not  pay  the 
tax,  for  it  is  neither  right,  nor  custom,  nor  law." 

"  If  thou  payest  not  the  taxes  thou  goest  to  jail, 
for  so  the  Act  declares,"  bellowed  the  constable. 

"  So  be  it,"  I  replied  quietly,  "  and  I  fear  not 
but  I  shall  have  worthy  company." 

"  Thou  goest  not  alone  with  this  ungodly  man," 
answered  me  Brother  Elimelech — his  secular  name 
being  Emanuel  Eckerling — as  he  stood  bravely  by 
my  side. 

"  I  too  go  with  thee  into  the  camp  of  the  Philis- 
tines," said  Brother  Jephune,  brother  to  Elimelech, 
also  coming  to  my  side. 

Another  of  the  Eckerlings,  Brother  Jotham, 
stepped  over  to  me  and  said  quietly :  "  Even  if  it 
be  to  the  stocks  or  the  gallows  I  go  with  thee." 

"And  if  I  go  with  thee,  Brother  Jabez,  as  I 
surely  will,  then  thou  hast  all  the  sons  of  my 
mother  with  thee,"  said  Brother  Onesimus. 

"  With  all  these  Eckerlings — Emanuel,  Samuel, 
Gabriel,  and  Israel — I  fear  naught,  not  even  our 
formidable  friend,  the  tax  collector,"  I  said  gayly, 
not  at  all  disturbed  by  his  fierce  looks  and  scowls 


58  A   TALE   OF   THE   KLOSTER 

at  me,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  instigator  of  all 
this  little  rebellion,  although  in  truth  there  were 
more  than  the  Eckerlings  and  myself  who  thought 
it  not  right  to  pay  the  taxes.  But  thus  it  ever 
hath  been,  for  doth  not  the  Scriptures  say  that  out 
of  the  ten  thousand  who  gathered  to  fight  under  the 
banner  of  Gideon  only  three  hundred  were  worthy 
to  be  led  against  the  enemy  ? 

"  The  devil  take  ye  all  for  a  lot  of  pious  fools  if 
ye  go  not  with  me  at  once,"  thundered  the  con- 
stable, choking  with  wrath,  so  that  I  greatly  feared 
from  his  purple  face  he  might  perish  from  the 
palsy. 

"  The  devil,  or  his  deputy,  may  take  us  now  if 
he  be  ready,"  I  said  to  him,  which  but  the  more 
enraged  him,  so  that  he  rushed  from  us  puffing 
and  wheezing  as  he  floundered  across  the  meadow, 
the  very  swaying  of  his  broad  back  expressing 
his  indignation  at  our  disregard  for  the  majesty 
of  the  law. 

"  Brother  Jabez,"  said  Brother  Enoch,  as  the 
majesty  of  the  law  disappeared  down  the  road  be- 
yond the  meadow,  "  dost  thou  know  if  we  pay  not 
the  levy  we  shall  be  arrested  and  taken  to  jail  ?" 

"  If  the  constable  be  a  man  of  his  word,  I  doubt 
not  thou  art  a  true  prophet,"  I  replied,  "  but  thou 
knowest  Ecclesiastes  sayeth  there  is  'a  time  of 
war  and  a  time  of  peace.'  It  seemeth  my  duty  to 
oppose  this  unjust  tax,  and  now  is  the  time  to  set 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  59 

our  faces  firmly  against  the  levy.  If  we  five  must 
go  alone,  so  be  it." 

Just  then  some  one  laid  hold  of  mine  arm,  and 
turning  about  I  saw  Brother  Martin — Martin  Bra- 
mer  being  his  secular  name — our  tailor.  I  asked 
him  :  "  What  hast  to  say,  Brother  Martin,  shall  we 
pay  the  taxes  ?  " 

"Will  they  hang  us  if  we  pay  not  the  king's 
officer  ?  "  he  asked,  still  with  the  image  of  the  king 
in  his  eye,  looking  first  at  me  and  then  at  Brother 
Enoch  and  then  at  the  four  Eckerlings. 

"  That  I  do  not  know,"  I  said,  after  a  pause. 
"  Brother  Enoch,"  said  I,  turning  to  him,  "  thou 
art  learned  in  the  laws  of  the  province.  What 
will  be  done  with  us  ? " 

"  Most  likely  ye  will  be  imprisoned  until  ye 
promise  to  pay  the  taxes,"  said  our  learned  brother, 
who  afterward  became  one  of  the  justices  of  our 
province. 

"  And  our  good  Brother  Jabez  is  so  stubborn  in 
this,  if  we  pay  not  the  levies,  then  must  we  abide 
in  jail  for  all  our  days,"  sighed  Brother  Martin, 
"for  I  know  he  will  never  make  such  promise." 

"Ye  tailors  are  ever  a  timid  folk,"  I  broke  in 
with  some  impatience.  "  '  Sufficient  unto  the  day 
is  the  evil  thereof.'  " 

And  yet  with  all  the  differences  about  the  taxes, 
when  the  constable  returned  with  five  or  six  neigh- 
bors who  liked  not  our  Sabbatarian  views  and  who 


60  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

answered  willingly  to  the  summons  to  arrest  the 
"  rebels  "  and  "heretics,"  as  it  pleased  them  to  call 
us,  I  rejoiced  exceedingly  to  see  that  not  only  the 
whole  Brotherhood  but  even  the  Sisters  were 
united  in  their  determination  to  oppose  the  tax. 
And  so  when  the  constable  and  his  eager  minions 
came  rushing  across  the  meadow  as  though  they 
were  about  to  storm  some  walled  city,  they  found 
us  quietly  gathered  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai, 
our  hands  meekly  folded  across  our  breasts,  no 
one  saying  a  word,  except  that  Brother  Beissel,  as 
guardian  of  our  flock,  stood  somewhat  in  advance 
of  the  Brothers  and  Sisters,  with  me  close  to  him, 
to  meet  the  first  onset  of  the  doughty  constable 
and  his  deputies. 

As  they  came  nigh,  they  paused,  and  then  came 
to  a  full  stop  as  they  saw  this  goodly  array  of 
Brothers  and  Sisters.  Whereupon  Brother  Beissel 
spoke  up  to  the  constable  :  "  *  Are  ye  come  out  as 
against  a  thief  with  swords  and  staves  to  take  us  ? ' 
Ye  need  not  come  in  such  haste  and  violence ;  our 
good  neighbors,  though  they  seem  overly  anxious 
to  help  thee  in  this,  must  say  we  have  never  done 
violence  toward  any  one.  We  are  gathered  here 
to  go  with  thee  and  to  have  our  cause  heard  by 
the  justices." 

This  was  more  than  our  constable  had  bargained 
for,  for  they  were  hardly  prepared  to  convoy  such 
a  gathering,  and  we  could  but  smile,  Brother  Beis- 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  6 1 

sel  and  I,  and  even  the  Brothers  and  Sisters,  to 
see  the  consternation  that  now  reigned  on  the  side 
of  the  constable  and  our  officious  neighbors. 
Drawing  closely  together  they  held  such  a  lively 
conference,  in  which  each  seemed  bent  on  out- 
talking  the  others,  that  it  was  no  great  difficulty 
for  us  to  hear  everything  that  passed  between 
them.  The  constable  was  for  taking  me  alone, 
because  he  regarded  me  as  the  ringleader ;  another 
argued  just  as  violently  that  our  superintendent 
and  I  should  be  taken,  as  we  were  the  leaders  of 
the  community  and  therefore  represented  them  ; 
still  another  loudly  claimed  that  the  four  Ecker- 
lings  and  myself  should  be  taken  as  being  guilty 
of  open  treason  for  saying  we  would  not  pay  the 
taxes;  and  still  another  thought  we  all  should  go. 

Finally,  it  was  decided  to  take  only  the  Ecker- 
lings  and  myself,  and  as  Brother  Martin  cried  out 
from  behind  my  back  that  he  would  not  pay  the 
tax,  he  too  was  added  to  our  number.  As  soon  as 
this  result  was  achieved  by  our  adversary  the  con- 
stable, he  stood  forth  and  in  a  loud  voice  called 
our  names  and  demanded  that  we  stand  forth,  that 
we  were  arrested,  and  that  we  must  go  with  him 
to  Lancaster  to  be  heard  before  the  justices.  It 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  prevailed  upon 
Brother  Beissel  and  the  remaining  Brothers  and 
Sisters  that  they  could  not  accompany  us,  for  they 
were  all  determined  that  in  this  we  must  make 


62  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

common  cause.  Finally,  however,  I  succeeded  in 
showing  them  that  we  six  represented  the  com- 
munity and  were  willing  to  stand  trial  for  the  sake 
of  all,  and  that  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  rest  to 
remain  at  home  and  look  after  the  sewing  and  the 
spinning  and  the  preparing  of  the  fields  for  the 
spring  planting  and  to  take  care  of  the  sick  and 
poor  and  needy. 

Thus  matters  at  last  having  been  settled,  an- 
other problem  stared  our  enemies  in  the  face. 
They  demanded  that  we  provide  some  conveyance 
in  which  to  be  taken  to  Lancaster,  which  was 
some  thirteen  miles  from  us.  To  this  I  replied 
that  we  had  none ;  that  we  always  traveled  afoot. 
Knowing  this  to  be  true,  they  had  no  more  to  say 
other  than  that  they  would  furnish  conveyances  at 
their  own  expense,  wherein  we  could  ride  to  Lan- 
caster. This  also  we  said  we  could  not  do  because 
it  was  our  custom  never  to  ride  but  always  to  walk, 
with  staff  in  hand  like  the  early  pilgrims.  When 
this  conclusion  was  made  known  to  the  constable 
I  thought,  in  all  truth,  he  would  now  surely  die  in 
a  fit ;  for  he  howled  and  stormed  and  raged  like 
some  one  possessed  with  a  thousand  devils  ;  but 
we  merely  stood  quiet,  saying  not  a  word  until  the 
storm  had  somewhat  subsided  and  he  was  suffi- 
ciently sensible  to  understand  that  if  we  were  to 
go  to  Lancaster  it  would  be  on  foot  and  not  other- 
wise.    Thus  we  departed  after — with  some  misgiv- 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  63 

ings  it  is  true — I  had  first  had  a  promise  from 
Brother  Beissel  that  he  would  look  after  Sonnlein 
until  I  came  back  again,  the  constable  and  his 
deputies  in  the  lead,  and  we  following  in  single 
file,  with  our  staffs  in  hand,  quietly  and  peacefully. 
At  first  our  captors  were  disposed  to  heap  on 
us  all  the  indignities  and  insults  they  could  think 
of,  pulling  us  by  our  long  beards  which  they  in 
their  humor  were  pleased  to  liken  to  goats'  beards, 
and  calling  us  "he-goats,"  "men  with  women's 
frocks  on,"  "bleached  fools,"  "  Beissel's  lambs," 
and  spitting  on  us  every  now  and  then ;  to  all  of 
which  we  raised  not  our  hands  or  opened  our 
mouths  but  followed  meekly,  as  was  our  custom 
to  bear  all  insult  and  indignity.  Uphill  and  down 
again,  through  dale  and  valley,  long  stretches  of 
forest  broken  only  at  rare  intervals  by  some  little 
clearing  with  its  humble  log  cabin,  we  trudged 
along  patiently  and  uncomplainingly  only  that  the 
constable  and  his  deputies  who  at  first  set  out 
with  such  a  high  pace  as  though  they  intended  to 
devour  the  way  in  a  few  steps  soon  found  that 
even  their  spite  and  anger  could  not  furnish  en- 
durance for  such  a  pace.  Gradually  they  slack- 
ened, the  constable,  by  reason  of  his  great  bulk 
and  this  unaccustomed  exercise  puffing  most  vio- 
lently and  every  now  and  then  growling  at  our 
stubbornness  and  our  pig-headedness  in  making 
them  travel  afoot  and  roaring  and  swearing  most 


64  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

vile  oaths  that  we  should  pay  dear  for  this  great 
contempt  of  the  law. 

Indeed,  before  we  were  more  than  half-way  to 
our  destination  our  constable,  not  being  built  for 
walking,  was  suffering  severely  in  his  feet  and 
limbs  from  these  unaccustomed  exertions,  which 
we,  inured  to  such  trifles,  minded  not  in  the  least. 
His  deputies,  who  looked  as  lean  and  hungry  as  he 
looked  prosperous,  also  were  in  sore  straits ;  for 
they  too  found  this  walking  not  much  to  their 
taste.  It  finally  came  to  such  a  pass,  while  we 
were  yet  some  miles  from  Lancaster  that  the  con- 
stable announced  savagely,  looking  at  us  as  though 
he  would  have  liked  to  hang  us  from  the  branches 
of  the  nearest  tree,  that  he  could  not  walk  any 
farther.  A  short  consultation  with  the  rest  of  the 
Brethren,  and  I  stepped  up  to  him  sitting  at  the 
foot  of  a  tree,  puffing,  and  mopping  the  sweat  from 
his  forehead,  and  said  to  him  respectfully  that  if 
he  would  tell  us  where  to  present  ourselves  we 
would  go  straight  ahead  and  give  ourselves  up  to 
the  justices.  At  this  he  glared  at  us,  if  anything 
more  savagely  than  ever,  and  declared  it  to  be  a 
scheme  to  escape.  Whereupon  I  merely  replied, 
"  Very  well,  we  shall  wait  here,  then,  until  thou  art 
ready  to  proceed  with  us." 

"No  doubt  ye  would,"  he  howled;  "for  I  doubt  not 
it  gives  ye  great  pleasure  to  see  what  a  sorry  state  ye 
have  brought  me  to  by  your  pig-headedness." 


CONCERNING    TAXATION  65 

"  Perhaps  thou  canst  find  a  conveyance  if  we 
press  on,  and  thou  canst  ride  the  rest  of  the  jour- 
ney ? "  I  suggested  to  him  gently. 

He  was  not  to  be  soothed,  however,  for  he 
merely  growled  :  "  I  know  no  place  between  here 
and  the  justices'  courts  where  I  can  find  beast  or 
wagon  to  carry  me." 

"  Dost  thou  object  if  we  carry  thee  there,  we 
and  our  kind  neighbors  who  are  helping  thee  ? "  I 
asked. 

"  Now  are  ye  quite  crazy,  for  do  ye  see  anything 
by  which  ye  can  carry  me,  or  do  you  intend  to  take 
me  on  your  backs  one  at  a  time  and  thus  carry  me 
a  laughingstock  into  Lancaster  ?  " 

"  If  thou  wilt  wait  and  hear  the  plan  we  have 
formed  in  our  minds  thou  wilt  perhaps  have  more 
respect  for  our  foolish  brains,"  I  assured  him. 

"  Well,  what  is  this  great  plan  of  thine  ?  " 

"  Sit  there  until  thou  seest,  and  if  it  do  not 
please  thee  thou  needst  not  take  it."  So  saying 
I  dispatched  one  of  the  leanest  deputies  who  I 
thought  could  best  stand  the  strain  of  walking, 
back  a  short  distance  to  a  cabin  we  had  passed  on 
our  way,  for  a  hatchet  and  some  strong  cord,  or 
ropes,  or  perchance,  nails.  He  grumbled  and 
growled,  but  upon  the  constable's  bidding  him  go 
on  our  fool's  quest,  the  deputy  left  us.  While  he 
was  gone,  my  brethren  and  I  made  search  in  the 
forest  about  us  for  such  timber  as  we  could  make 

F 


66  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

into  a  litter  and  when  the  deputy  returned,  scorn- 
fully handing  me  the  hatchet  and  some  strong 
cord,  we  cut  down  a  number  of  saplings  suitable 
to  the  constable's  weight,  and  with  these  formed  a 
sort  of  litter  on  which  he  could  sit  or  lie,  as  it 
might  please  him,  while  the  rest  of  us  carried  him 
along.  He  was  much  loth  to  trust  himself  to 
what  he  considered  a  frail  support  for  his  mighty 
frame,  but  after  showing  him  it  was  strong  enough 
to  hold  him,  he  finally  stretched  his  length  thereon, 
sending  the  deputy  back  with  the  hatchet,  while 
we  waited  his  return. 

But  the  constable  still  doubting,  growled,  but 
more  softly,  I  thought,  "  Now  what  good  is  all  this 
litter ;  who  shall  carry  me  ?  My  deputies,  who  are 
themselves  tired,  cannot  carry  me  all  these  miles 
to  Lancaster." 

"  Nay,"  replied  I,  "  but  we  six  Brethren  are 
young  and  strong  and  we  will  take  hold  of  the 
poles  and  carry  thee  as  far  as  we  are  able,  after 
which  thy  deputies  may  relieve  us  until  we  regain 
our  breath  and  strength  when  we  shall  again  take 
thee  on." 

He  sat  up  and  said  slowly  and  still  doubtfully : 
"  Do  ye  mean  to  say  ye  will  do  this  for  me  ? " 

"That  we  will  cheerfully,"  we  all  assured  him; 
"  though  thou  hast  not  treated  us  over  kindly  it  is 
not  in  our  minds  to  remember  what  thou  hast  said 
and  done." 


CONCERNING   TAXATION  6j 

"  You  are  not  up  to  some  trick  ? " 

"  Thou  hast  good  reason  to  believe  we  be  men 
of  our  word,"  I  replied  somewhat  stiffly ;  "  my 
brethren  are  not  given  to  trickery." 

The  deputy  having  now  returned,  my  brethren 
and  I  took  the  first  turn  and  hoisting  to  our  shoul- 
ders the  long  poles  extending  beyond  the  frame- 
work on  which  our  constable  sat  in  royal  state,  we 
trudged  along  quietly  but  cheerfully,  even  though 
our  burden  was  not  a  light  one,  our  neighbors,  the 
deputies,  under  the  direction  of  the  still  distrustful 
constable,  attending  to  it  that  we  departed  not 
from  our  proper  course,  which  none  of  us  had  the 
slightest  intention  of  doing.  Yet  I  must  record 
that  the  human  heart,  as  the  Holy  Book  sayeth  in 
its  omniscient  wisdom,  is  a  deceitful  thing,  even 
in  the  best  of  us ;  for  we  had  not  gone  far  with 
our  rude  conveyance  when  we  came  to  a  most  foul 
and  dirty  pool  directly  in  our  way.  Brother  Mar- 
tin, being  so  small  and  slight  and  by  reason  there- 
of in  great  danger  of  destroying  the  evenness  of 
the  litter — which  of  course  would  not  have  been 
well  for  the  choleric  temper  of  the  constable — was 
placed  at  my  corner,  in  front  of  me,  so  borrowing 
from  my  height  and  strength  that  the  litter  would 
carry  more  evenly,  and  also  our  beloved  little  tailor 
be  not  overly  taxed  by  the  burden. 

But  surely  the  Evil  One  doth  ever  find  an  easy 
entrance  to  idle  minds,  wherefore  we  of  the  Klos- 


68  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

ter  always  made  it  our  rule  to  be  busy  as  far  as  in 
us  lay.  Now  in  our  anxiety  to  save  our  Brother 
Martin  from  undue  labor,  we  had  made  the  mis- 
take of  leaving  too  little  on  his  shoulders,  where- 
fore instead  of  having  his  mind  on  pious  things, 
he  was  bent  upon  evil  toward  the  constable ;  for  it 
grieves  me  to  say  that  as  we  came  to  this  filthy 
pool  and  were  about  to  step  over  it,  Brother  Mar- 
tin turned  his  head  about  and  gave  me  a  sly  look 
and  made  a  motion  of  his  body  as  of  dropping  our 
end  of  the  lifter,  which  foul  deed,  had  we  done  it 
at  this  juncture  would  most  surely  have  dropped 
the  majesty  of  the  law  into  this  slimy  pool.  In 
truth,  so  powerful  is  the  mere  suggestion  of  evil 
to  our  weak,  sinful  natures  that  ere  I  fully  thought 
what  I  was  about,  I  had  responded  by  bobbing  down 
a  trifle,  but  recalling  myself  in  due  time,  straight- 
ened up  sternly,  giving  Brother  Martin  such  a  with- 
ering glance  as  made  him  faithful  for  the  rest  of 
the  journey,  if  not  for  the  remainder  of  his  days. 

Fortunately,  our  constable  never  knew  how  near 
he  was  to  a  ducking,  and  as  we  stepped  carefully 
over  the  pool — at  which  he  looked  with  some  ap- 
prehension— and  proceeded  thoughtfully  on  our 
way,  very  seldom  relieved  by  the  deputies — for 
whom  the  farther  we  had  come  the  more  the  heat 
of  their  persecuting  zeal  had  abated — I  could  see 
assurance  in  the  constable's  features  that  we  were 
rising  higher  and  higher  in  his  regard. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE    RIGHT    PREVAILS 


The  Lord  trieth  the  righteous  ;  but  the  wicked  and  him 
that  loveth  violence  his  soul  hateth. 

—Bible. 


N  brief,  we  traveled  in 
this  way  until  we 
reached  the  City  of 
Lancaster,  which  to  us 
seemed  all  bustle  and 
confusion.  The  con- 
stable, as  became  his 
dignity,  alighted  from 
his  litter  and  took  the 
lead,  with  his  deputies 
following,  and  we  after 
the  deputies,  in  single  file,  creating  great  excite- 
ment, especially  as  it  was  conjectured  by  some 
that  we  were  Papists  —  this  by  reason  of  our 
monkish  cowls  and  long  cloaks  and  abstracted 
air.  Others  of  the  idlers  whom  we  passed  jeered 
us  and  spat  on  us  as  being  spies — of  what,  I  am 
certain  I  never  could  learn — and  that  we  were  to 
be  hanged  as  traitors. 

69 


JO  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

As  no  one  had  known  of  our  coming,  the  idlers 
and  the  busybodies  were  unprepared  to  give  us  such 
greeting  as  they  no  doubt  would  have  relished, 
and  we  were  led  without  any  great  difficulty  to  the 
court-house  where,  upon  refusal  to  pay  the  taxes 
and  in  default  of  bail,  we  were  committed  to 
prison.  Here  we  were  held  in  a  cold,  bare  room 
which  we  minded  not ;  for  our  jailor  permitted  us 
to  occupy  it  together,  which  gave  us  great  joy, 
and  we  complained  neither  at  the  confinement  nor 
the  coarse  food,  but  the  rather  spent  our  time  in 
praising  God  and  most  of  all  praying  for  our  per- 
secutors, all  of  us  being  unshaken  in  the  hope 
that  deliverance  would  come  from  above  and  that 
in  due  time  our  prison  door  would  be  opened 
unto  us. 

At  last — and  in  this  I  believe  our  constable  had 
a  grateful  part — when  Tobias  Hendricks  (whose 
name  I  write  here  that  his  good  deed  may  shine 
far  out  into  the  world),  a  venerable  old  man  and 
himself  a  justice  of  the  peace,  came  forth  and 
offered  bail  for  us,  though  knowing  none  of  us  ex- 
cept by  rumor  and  repute,  taking  our  bare  word 
for  our  appearance  in  court  when  wanted,  we  were 
released  from  our  captivity,  and  quietly  and  undis- 
turbed we  started  out  for  our  beloved  Kloster,  and 
upon  the  twelfth  day  of  our  departure  with  the 
constable  and  his  eager  deputies,  we  six  Brethren 
once  more  filed  into  our  little  camp  on  the  Cocalico, 


THE   RIGHT    PREVAILS  7 1 

where  we  were  greeted  with  all  the  love  and  affec- 
tion that  the  sobriety  of  our  lives  permitted. 

Not  many  weeks  thereafter,  the  May  Court  con- 
vened in  Lancaster  and  we  six  Brethren,  agreeable 
to  our  promise,  put  in  our  appearance  before  the 
commissioners  and  assessors  of  taxes  who,  when 
they  saw  before  them  these  six  gentle  Brethren, 
in  the  bloom  of  youth,  who  had  raised  such  a  war- 
fare against  the  world,  the  fear  of  the  Lord  came 
upon  our  judges  so  that  they  did  not  speak  to  us 
otherwise  than  friendly  and  offered  us  every  favor. 

The  first  question  put  to  us  was,  "  Will  ye  be 
lawful  subjects  of  the  king?"  To  which  we  re- 
plied— but  in  all  respect — that  as  we  had  already 
pledged  allegiance  to  another  King  we  could  there- 
fore obey  the  earthly  king  only  so  far  as  his  rights 
accorded  with  those  of  our  eternal  King. 

To  this  our  judges  did  not  demur  but  asked  an- 
other question,  namely,  whether  we  would  pay  the 
taxes  ?  To  which  we  replied  respectfully  as  before, 
but  firmly,  not  the  head  tax,  because  we  acknowl- 
edged no  worldly  authority's  right  over  our  bodies, 
since  they  had  been  redeemed  from  men  and  the 
world.  Moreover,  we  considered  it  unjust  that,  as 
we  were  pledged  to  spend  our  lives  in  our  present 
condition,  one  of  great  benefit  to  the  country  about 
us,  we  should  be  measured  by  the  same  standard 
as  vagabonds  and  be  made  to  pay  the  same  tax  as 
they;  that  we  desired  not  to  be  considered  dis- 


7  2  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

obedient,  because  it  was  our  rule  to  live  peaceably 
with  all  men  so  far  as  within  us  lay,  for  thus  we 
were  enjoined  by  the  Scriptures  ;  but  that  if  the 
judges  would  consider  us  a  spiritual  family  we 
would  be  willing  to  pay  of  our  earthly  possessions 
according  to  what  was  just. 

All  this  was  granted  us  and  remains  unchanged 
to  the  present  day;  for  the  fear  of  God  came  upon 
the  gentlemen  who  were  our  judges  when  they 
saw  before  them  men  who  in  the  prime  of  their 
ages,  by  penitential  works  had  been  reduced  in 
flesh,  so  that  our  judges  used  great  moderation 
and  granted  us  our  personal  freedom  under  con- 
dition that  we  should  be  taxed  as  one  family  for 
our  real  estate,  the  judges  even  asking  us  how 
much  tax  in  our  judgment  would  be  just  and  fair 
— in  short,  for  us  to  assess  our  own  rate. 

This  we  refused  to  do,  but  finally,  after  much 
persuasion,  we  suggested  to  the  judges  that  a  tax 
of  forty  shillings  against  our  settlement  as  a  whole 
would  be  fair.  This  proving  satisfactory  to  the 
board  of  judges,  we  were  discharged,  and  with 
exceeding  gratitude  to  these  gentlemen  for  their 
benevolent  treatment  of  us,  which  was  so  different 
from  the  persecutions  we  often  endured  from  our 
neighbors,  who  were  so  often  bounden  to  us  for 
our  charity,  we  set  out  with  light  hearts  and  winged 
feet  on  our  long  tramp  through  forest  and  field  for 
the  Kloster. 


THE    RIGHT    PREVAILS  73 

It  was  late  in  the  day  and  darkness  had  already 
come  upon  us  when  we  left  the  city  of  Lancaster, 
but  our  joy  made  the  journey  seem  short  and  by 
midnight  we  arrived  in  the  settlement  just  as  the 
night  watch  was  in  full  session. 

In  all  my  long  life  I  have  never  forgotten  and 
shall  never  forget  how  we  appeared  to  our  Brethren 
that  night  as  we  came  to  the  narrow  doorway  lead- 
ing into  the  Saal,  I  being  in  the  lead.  We  could 
hear  the  fervent  prayers  that  were  being  offered 
for  our  release  and  for  a  moment  while  the  Breth- 
ren within  were  kneeling  all  unconscious  of  our 
nearness,  I  held  up  my  hand  and  beckoned  the 
Brethren  behind  me  to  wait  a  moment  while  we 
stood  there  silently  gazing  upon  the  bowed  forms 
of  the  worshipers. 

I  have  myself  attended  more  than  one  of  our 
midnight  funerals  of  some  dear  Brother  or  Sister, 
and  though  wonderfully  impressive  and  touching 
to  one's  heart,  even  they  never  touched  me  more 
deeply  than  this  impressive  sight  before  us.  As 
we  peered  into  the  large  Saaly  with  the  upper  gal- 
leries shadowed  in  darkness,  the  only  light  the 
flickering  tallow  candles  in  front  of  each  of  our 
devout  Brethren,  we  saw  the  dark,  mysterious 
shadows  in  the  corners  of  the  Saal  with  ourselves 
standing  in  such  a  gloom  we  were  not  perceived. 
But  for  a  few  moments  we  stood  thus  with  a  great 
peace  filling  our  hearts,  when  suddenly  we  walked 


74  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

quietly  in,  the  prayer  still  in  progress,  and  with 
heads  bowed  and  hands  crossed  upon  our  breasts 
like  the  penitents  of  the  olden  days  ranged  our- 
selves in  front  of  the  platform  whereon  stood  our 
beloved  brother  and  leader,  Conrad  Beissel,  erect, 
austere ;  and  so  far  as  we  could  judge  from  his 
immovable  features,  wholly  undisturbed  by  our 
unexpected  arrival,  though  well  we  knew  that  this 
seeming  indifference  was  but  one  of  discipline 
and  self-control  and  that  the  heart  within  the 
sturdy  frame  was  beating  warmly  for  each  and 
every  one  of  us. 

The  invocation  in  our  behalf  being  ended  there 
was  for  a  few  moments  as  we  stood  before  our 
leader  a  silence  so  profound  as  to  be  almost  pain- 
ful. Then  suddenly  the  powerful  voice  of  Brother 
Weiser  rang  throughout  the  hall  in  that  mag- 
nificent, soul-stirring  war-hymn  of  the  Vaterland 
and  the  Reformation,  a  hymn  as  strong  and  rug- 
ged as  the  mighty  warrior  who  wrote  it,  "  Eine 
Feste  Burg  ist  Unser  Gott." 

The  first  line  had  not  yet  been  completed  when 
it  was  taken  up  by  all  present  until  the  strains  of 
the  full-voiced  battle  cry  sounded  and  resounded 
throughout  the  hall.  For  the  time  our  Brethren  had 
forgotten  all  the  repressing  influences  of  our  Klos- 
ter  life  and  poured  forth  their  flood  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving  from  their  very  hearts ;  for  such  sing- 
ing had  never  before  shaken  the  walls  of  the  Saal. 


THE    RIGHT    PREVAILS  75 

After  the  hymn  was  ended  thanks  were  duly 
offered  and  the  night  watch  closed  with  a  powerful 
address  by  Brother  Beissel  on  the  power  of  the 
beast  upon  earth,  and  while  I  feel  not  at  this  late 
day  like  stating  aught  that  might  savor  of  malice 
or  revenge,  I  find  in  looking  over  our  old  records 
this  note  made  with  reference  to  our  recent  ex- 
perience, namely,  "  Upon  those  neighbors,  how- 
ever, who  had  gloated  over  the  misfortunes  of  the 
Brethren  there  fell  the  terror  of  the  Lord  so  that 
they  hurriedly  left  these  regions  "  ;  and  thus  the 
beast  received  his  reward. 

After  the  services  were  over  and  the  Brethren 
were  wending  their  ways  toward  their  Rammers 
for  their  much-needed  rest  I  asked  our  superin- 
tendent about  Sonnlein  ;  for  though  I  had  said 
naught  of  him  during  these  occurrences,  yet  he 
was  in  my  heart  and  in  my  anxiety  most  of  the 
time.  I  can  still  see  and  hear  our  leader,  almost 
shocking  me  by  laughing,  a  thing  he  was  most 
rarely  guilty  of,  as  he  said,  "  Thy  Sonnlein  is  safe 
enough  in  thy  Kammer,  but  I  assure  thee  not  only 
did  I  pray  and  hope  for  thy  deliverance  for  thine 
own  sake  and  the  sake  of  our  Kloster,  but  I  do 
confess  in  all  love  for  thee  and  thy  boy  that  hadst 
thou  not  soon  returned  to  take  care  of  him  I  had 
either  been  compelled  to  give  up  my  life  here  or 
give  up  thy  boy." 

I  fear  I  did  not  even  take  time  to  thank  him, 


76  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

but  hastened  to  my  cell  where  I  found  my  boy 
soundly  sleeping. 

It  was  no  doubt  thoughtless  for  me  to  waken 
him,  but  I  could  not  help  it,  and  when  he  did 
awake  to  throw  his  arms  about  my  neck  and  hold 
me  tight,  I  felt  that,  perhaps,  it  was  no  great  sin 
after  all  to  rouse  him  from  his  sleep.  After  very" 
many  questions  as  to  where  I  had  been  and  why 
the  bad  men  had  taken  me,  and  all  such  questions 
as  only  an  eager,  trusting  child  can  ask,  I  finally 
told  him  it  was  time  to  go  to  sleep,  which  he  did 
without  any  great  difficulty. 

As  he  lay  there  sleeping  in  all  the  sweet  inno- 
cence of  childhood  and  health,  I  looked  first  at 
him  and  then  out  through  the  little  window  at  the 
perfect  beauty  of  God's  handiwork  in  his  heavens, 
and  then  I  went  to  my  rest,  proud  to  be  a  son  of 
him  who  created  me  in  his  image  and  who  had  put 
me  into  a  world  which,  though  full  of  dark  and 
evil  deeds,  yet  held  in  it,  if  we  only  looked  aright, 
so  much  of  beauty  and  joy  and  peace  and  love. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


OUR    FIRST    LOSS 


Let  nothing  make  thee  sad  or  fretful, 
Or  too  regretful  ; 

Be  still  ; 
What  God  hath  ordered  must  be  right, 
Then  find  in  it  thine  own  delight, 

My  will. 

— Paul  Fleming. 


HE    year    1738    is 
graven    on 


deeply 
my   memory, 
because    it    marked    the 
first    death    among    the 
Solitary,  our  Brother  Mar- 
tin   Bramer.       Secondly, 
because  his  death  followed 
so  swift  upon  the  appear- 
ance of  that  strange  being, 
woman,    witch,   or    devil, 
who,  time  and  again,  thrust  herself  so  violently 
into  our  lives. 

In  the  first  month  of  the  new  year,  and  on  a  day 
when  the  sun  was  shining  clear  and  bright,  there 
being  no  snow  on  the  ground,  I  was  on  my  way  to 
the  Brother  woods  for  an  armful  of  firewood  for 

77 


7  8  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

the  hall.  Close  upon  where  the  Brother  woods 
merged  into  the  Sister  woods  stood  a  mighty  oak 
within  a  little  clearing  on  the  Brothers'  side,  a 
favorite  haunt  of  the  Solitary  for  their  rare  mo- 
ments of  rest  from  their  daily  work.  . 

I  had  about  reached  the  clearing  under  the 
shelter  of  the  wide-reaching  arms  of  the  old  oak 
when  suddenly,  for  I  was  in  my  customary  fashion 
of  deep  meditation  with  mine  eyes  toward  the 
ground,  I  walked  into  Brother  Martin,  almost 
overthrowing  him,  for  that  our  tailor  was  so  small 
and  slight.  However,  we  gravely  saluted  each 
other  as  though  naught  had  happened ;  for  each 
knew  it  had  been  a  mere  accident,  and  were  about 
to  pass  on  when  I  caught  sight  of  his  face,  and 
saw  from  his  more  than  usual  pallid  features  and 
the  twitching  lips  that  he  was  suffering  from  some 
great  shock.  Never  of  robust  health  he  had  not 
been  well  lately,  and  I  thought  he  was  suffering 
more  than  usual  from  his  infirmity. 

I  hailed  him  with  brotherly  solicitude,  "Thou 
art  not  well,  Brother  Martin  !  I  fear  the  Solitary 
press  upon  thee  too  sorely  for  thy  keeping  of  them 
clad  as  becomes  their  orders." 

"  Nay,  nay,  Brother  Jabez,"  he  replied  gently  ; 
but  I  could  hear  the  trembling  and  the  fear  in  his 
voice,  "  It  is  not  my  labors,  which  though  toil- 
some, lie  pleasantly  on  me,  because  I  love  my 
work,  and  those  for  whom  I  labor  and  strive  to 


OUR    FIRST    LOSS  79 

please  seem  to  love  me  for  what  I  do  for  them  "  ; 
and  indeed  this  was  true,  for  his  gentle,  unaffected 
devotion  to  us  and  Him  we  served  made  our 
Brother  Martin  universally  loved. 

"But  surely,"  I  insisted,  "thou'rt  not  well; 
thou'rt  disturbed  and  suffering,  that  I  see  plainly. 
I  beseech  thee  tell  me  what  so  sorely  weighs  on 
thee." 

He  looked  up  at  me,  his  pale,  bloodless  lips 
quivering,  and  whispered  into  mine  ear,  clutching 
mine  arm  and  leaning  on  it  as  though  he  needed 
my  protection,  "  I  have  seen  the  Evil  One  in 
woman's  form,"  and  then  he  gasped,  "  I  shall 
surely  die." 

"  Nay,  nay,  my  brother,"  I  replied,  as  though 
laughing  at  his  foolish  fears,  "  'tis  true  the  Evil 
One  comes  to  us  at  times  in  woman's  form  to  lure 
us,  as  Solomon  sayeth,  '  to  the  gates  of  hell ' ;  but 
when  the  fiend  comes  as  such  it  is  not  in  horrid, 
repulsive  shape,  but  like  those  beautiful  beings 
who  came  to  Saint  Anthony  with  such  artful,  se- 
ductive enchantments  that  none  but  saint  could 
say  them  nay.  Surely  if  this  Evil  One  hath  ap- 
peared to  thee  thou  needst  not  look  for  thy  im- 
mediate dissolution,  but  mayst  expect  some  grace 
from  the  fair  devourer." 

But  my  poor  brother  would  not  be  comforted, 
and  merely  stood  shaking  his  head,  saying  mourn- 
fully, "  This  was  no  beautiful  enchantress  ;  no  se- 


80  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTEK. 

ductive  siren,  as  thou  sayest ;  'twas  the  foul  fiend 
in  his  foulest,  most  awful  form,  long,  tangled  hair 
falling  every  way  over  a  face  through  which  there 
gleamed  eyes  on  fire  with  the  hatred  of  hell.  I 
saw  the  eternal  enmity  of  the  Evil  One  in  those 
piercing  eyes." 

"Where  was  all  this,  Brother  Martin  ?  "  for  I  saw 
he  could  not  be  laughed  out  of  his  terror. 

"Just  beyond  the  oak,"  he  replied  ;  "she  was 
standing  in  a  thicket  covered  with  tangled  vines 
as  foul  and  poisonous  as  herself.  I  had  all  un- 
thinking almost  walked  into  her  when  suddenly  I 
heard  a  snarl  like  some  ravenous  beast ;  I  saw  her 
horrible  claws  uplifted  as  though  she  were  about 
to  spring  on  me  and  tear  me  limb  from  limb.  I 
jumped  back,  my  heart  almost  standing  still,  think- 
ing naught  but  that  my  end  had  come.  She  came 
no  farther,  but  contented  herself  with  crouching 
there  and  glaring  at  me  with  those  awful  eyes  of 
hate  that  seemed  to  burn  into  my  very  soul." 

"  Canst  thou  go  with  me  where  thou  hast  seen 
this  witch  or  devil  ?  "  I  said  boldly,  although  I  had 
not  overly  much  stomach  for  the  venture. 

As  I  said  this  he  drew  back  and  trembled  vio- 
lently as  he  cried  out,  "  Nay,  not  even  for  the  very 
hope  of  a  safe  hereafter  would  I  go  to  that  ac- 
cursed place." 

"  Then  remain  there,  thou  gentle  coward,  whilst 
I  go,"  commanded  I. 


OUR    FIRST    LOSS  8 1 

Again  he  clutched  me  by  the  arm  and  cried  out, 
"  Nay,  go  not,  Brother  Jabez ;  even  if  she  touch 
thee  not  her  look  will  blast  thee  like  lightning." 

"  I  fear  her  not,"  bragged  I,  and  strode  away, 
leaving  him  shuddering  with  the  terror  that  had  not 
yet  grown  cold,  and  with  apprehensions  for  me. 

I  had  no  trouble  in  finding  the  thick  bush  and 
entangling  vines  Brother  Martin  had  pointed  out 
to  me.  As  I  approached  its  dark,  forbidding  front, 
I  trembled  like  a  leaf,  and  then  grew  angry  at  my 
weakness.  Then  I  went  on,  resolutely  forcing  my 
way  into  the  vile  vines  that  caught  me  all  about 
my  face  and  body  and  limbs  so  that  I  was  ready 
to  affirm  naught  human  could  penetrate  such  a 
wilderness  ;  but  though  I  looked  carefully  for  any 
signs  that  would  show  that  some  one  or  something 
had  thrust  itself  into  these  exasperating  vines  I 
could  find  nothing,  even  though  I  had  in  all  these 
years  learned  much  of  the  ways  of  the  woods  and 
its  signs. 

In  great  bewilderment  I  was  about  to  turn  back 
to  chide  Brother  Martin  with  having  seen  nothing 
but  a  creature  of  his  own  imagining  when  I  saw 
in  a  small  gully  at  the  farther  boundary  of  the 
thicket  a  footprint,  small,  a  woman's  surely,  in  the 
soft,  clayey  soil.  Had  the  imprint  been  that  of  a 
cloven  foot  I  could  not  have  been  more  startled  ; 
for  I  knew  that  the  Sisterhood  seldom,  if  ever, 
came  to  the  Brother  woods,  and  the  good  wives 


82  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

and  daughters  of  the  near-by  settlers  were  too 
timid  and  honest  to  trespass  on  our  lands.  Much 
perturbed,  for  I  knew  this  thing  boded  evil  to  our 
community,  I  walked  slowly  back  to  my  waiting 
brother,  vague  remembrances  strangely  flitting 
through  my  mind,  but  making  no  impression  at 
the  time,  of  how  Sonnlein  had  come  to  me,  and 
the  midnight  beating  of  our  Brother  Beissel. 

I  found  Brother  Martin,  still  pale  and  fearful, 
anxiously  wanting  to  know  what  I  had  learned. 
"  Nothing,"  I  said,  "  of  witch  or  devil,  but  the 
substantial  print  of  a  woman's  foot." 

"  Was  there  no  smell  of  brimstone  ?  No  cloven 
footprint  ?  "  he  persisted. 

"  Nay,  thou  simple  one,  else  I  had  told  thee. 
Say  thou  naught  of  this  ;  for  they  who  would  not 
believe  thee  would  only  laugh  at  thee,  and  if  any 
believe  what  could  that  avail  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  dear  Brother  Jabez,  nothing,"  he  said 
mournfully,  a  strange,  fixed  look  in  his  wild  eyes. 
"  A  woman  with  an  evil  eye  once  looked  upon  my 
little  brother  as  he  lay  laughing  in  the  cradle  my 
father  had  hewn  out  of  a  log.  Until  then  the 
child  was  strong  and  healthy,  never  having  been 
sick  ;  but  from  that  day  he  wasted  away,  with 
naught  that  could  help  or  cure  him,  and  within  a 
month  we  laid  him  down  in  his  little  resting-place 
in  the  orchard  nigh  our  cabin.  They  whom  the 
evil  eye  look  upon  live  not  long."     And  then,  as 


OUR    FIRST    LOSS  83 

one  who  goes  forth  to  certain  death,  he  looked  up 
at  me  smiling  bravely  through  all  his  fears  and 
said,  "  If  my  time  hath  come,  let  it  come  quickly, 
His  servant  waiteth." 

I  found  it  impossible  to  free  him  from  this 
melancholy  mood,  and  so  we  walked  back  slowly 
and  sadly  to  our  Kammers,  saying  nothing  more. 

A  week  passed,  Brother  Martin  quietly,  with 
resignation,  doing  his  lowly  duties  each  day ;  but 
we  all  could  see  he  was  in  failing  health.  Only 
he  and  I  knew,  however,  that  the  tortures  of  mind 
he  was  enduring  far  outweighed  the  lesser  pains 
of  the  flesh  ;  for  I  hesitate  not  to  say  of  saint 
as  well  as  sinner,  that  until  death  be  actually  at 
hand,  they  fear  alike  the  inevitable  end. 

On  a  Friday  night,  just  a  week  from  the  Friday 
our  brother  had  seen  this  thing,  the  midnight  serv- 
ices being  over,  and  the  Brethren  and  Sisters  hav- 
ing returned  to  their  Kammers  to  rest  their  weary 
heads  on  their  hard  wooden  blocks,  we  were  startled 
by  the  ringing  of  the  Kloster  bell.  Clear  and 
loud  it  pealed  through  the  cold  quietness  of  the 
night.  Like  a  flash,  though  I  had  not  thought  of 
it  before,  I  cried  out  to  Brother  Obed,  who  had  the 
adjoining  cell,  "Tis  Brother  Martin,"  though  not 
more  than  a  half-hour  had  expired  since  we  had 
returned,  he  with  us,  from  our  midnight  devotions. 

Suddenly  the  pealing  notes  ceased,  and  then 
came  the  slow,  solemn  tolling  of  the  bell,  a  custom 


84  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

followed  ever  after  on  the  death  of  any  of  our 
number,  until  forty-eight  were  measured  out,  which 
I  knew  was  about  our  brother's  age.  His  cell  was 
on  the  floor  below,  where  I  hastened  as  soon  as 
the  last  year  of  his  life  had  been  tolled.  A  num- 
ber of  the  Brethren,  with  bowed  heads,  stood  sadly 
in  the  narrow  Kammer>  in  the  still  narrower  doorway 
and  corridor.  I  had  been  filled,  ere  I  saw  him, 
with  a  dread  that  his  death  agony  might  have  had 
its  terrors  increased  a  thousand-fold  by  the  awful 
memory  of  the  witch  ;  for  I  knew  he  had  never 
forgotten  it.  But  when  I  looked  down  on  the 
slight  form  and  peaceful  face  resting  on  the  hard 
bench  and  still  more  mortifying  pillow,  I  saw  no 
trace  of  any  overpowering,  death-dealing  vision. 
Instead,  his  face,  though  greatly  wasted  and 
altered,  was  as  composed  as  though  he  had  merely 
fallen  asleep  in  the  arms  of  his  beloved.  The 
little  window  looking  out  from  his  Rammer,  as 
soon  as  the  last  spark  of  life  had  died  out,  had 
been  opened  so  that  his  soul  could  take  its  flight 
unhindered  and  unmolested  to  that  place  of  pure 
delights  "  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

At  the  funeral,  which  was  the  following  mid- 
night, as  we  carried  the  body  out  of  the  Berghaus 
a  bucket  of  water  was  poured  upon  the  sill  and 
swept  up,  and  the  door  immediately  closed  so  that 
his  spirit  could  not  return  again    to   its   earthly 


OUR    FIRST    LOSS  85 

home,  and  to  make  further  assurance  against  such 
a  return  three  crosses  were  marked  upon  the  door 
jamb  with  red  earth. 

We  buried  him  who  had  thus  passed  away  in 
the  prime  of  his  life,  down  in  the  meadow  nigh 
to  where  in  later  years  we  built  our  Brother  house. 
It  was  a  dark,  stormy  night,  no  moon  and  no  stars 
to  lighten  up  the  gloom  of  the  sky  or  the  still 
deeper  darkness  in  our  hearts  ;  but  with  our  fagot 
torchlights  sputtering  fitfully,  almost  blown  out 
by  the  wind  at  times,  we  laid  him  to  rest  at  the 
midnight  hour  with  all  the  honors  and  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  our  holy  order. 

Thus,  on  this  weird,  stormy  night,  in  such  con- 
trast to  the  peace  and  gentleness  of  this  earnest, 
zealous  warrior  of  the  faith  who  for  almost  nine 
years  had  abided  with  us,  we  left  in  the  meadow 
his  mortal  remains,  but  took  back  with  us  the  re- 
membrance of  his  godly  services  and  his  truth  and 
fidelity  unto  his  profession  and  brotherhood  during 
his  short  life. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A    LOVE    FEAST 

But  when  a  lady  chaste  and  fair, 
Noble,  and  clad  in  rich  attire, 
Walks  through  the  throng  with  gracious  air, 
As  sun  that  bids  the  stars  retire — 
Then  where  are  all  thy  boastings,  May  ? 
What  hast  thou  beautiful  and  gay 
Compared  with  that  supreme  delight  ? 
We  leave  thy  loveliest  flowers  and  watch  that  lady 
bright. 

— Song  of  Walter  Von  der  Vogelweide. 


T  accords  not  well  with 
my  ideas  of  humility 
and  self-effacement  that 
I  should  ever  be  writing 
of  myself,  and  yet  it 
seemeth  not  possible  to 
tell  this  tale  without 
bringing  into  it  much 
that  befell  me  in  con- 
nection with  those  who 
were  so  dear  to  me,  and 
of  whose  lives  it  is  my  pleasure  and  pain  to  relate. 
And  of  those  who  were  so  precious  to  me  there 

86 


A    LOVE   FEAST  8? 

were  none  so  dear  to  me  as  my  Sister  Bernice, 
not  even  Sonnlein ;  for  however  beloved  he  was 
of  me  he  was  none  the  less  of  my  sex,  while 
my  dear  sister  was  of  that  sex  which  a  true  man, 
so  it  appeareth  to  me,  can  no  more  help  hold- 
ing with  a  more  or  less  tender  feeling  than  he 
can  help  breathing. 

I  know  this  will  seem  unto  many  as  foolishness, 
especially  as  I — like  my  Brother  Beissel,  who  had 
published  his  " EhebUchlein"  or  "  Booklet  on  Mat- 
rimony," denouncing  marriage  as  the  penitentiary 
of  carnal  man — have  ever  been  an  advocate  of  the 
beauty  and  superiority  of  the  virgin  life ;  but  in 
my  reading  of  history  I  have  noted  how  more 
than  one  man  much  stronger  than  I,  changed 
utterly  his  beliefs  and  principles  for  the  love  of 
some  daughter  of  Eve. 

It  is  not  that  I  have  never  been  greatly  at- 
tracted by  the  charms  of  my  sisters,  whom  we  in 
Ephrata  regarded  not  so  much  opposite  as  com- 
plementary to  our  own,  man's  nature.  I  loved  my 
mother  dearly ;  her  love  hath  been  as  a  sweet 
fragrance  to  me  in  all  my  long  life,  and  in  many  a 
trial  and  temptation  have  I  felt  her  presence  near, 
strengthening  and  upholding  me  in  the  right. 
And  however  cold  and  indifferent  I  may  have 
borne  myself  outwardly  to  the  gentler  ones,  still  I 
never  could  speak  otherwise  than  tenderly,  and 
even  reverently  to  them,  as  it  seemed  to  me  their 


88  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

pure,  finer  natures  deserved ;  so  that  it  hath  ever 
grieved  me  to  hear  any  one  belittle  a  woman. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  saw  the 
slight,  delicate  form  and  sweet  face  of  Sister  Ber- 
nice.  It  was  at  one  of  our  love  feasts  (Liebesmahl), 
which  with  us  was  not  like  among  the  other  de- 
nominations, merely  symbolic,  but  was  patterned 
after  that  of  the  early  Christians ;  for  we  took  a 
regular  meal — and  not  merely  a  wafer  or  cake — in 
utter  silence  before  communion,  the  love  feast  being 
an  introduction  to  the  more  solemn  part  of  the 
evening's  service. 

I  remember  full  well  how  the  Brethren  were 
sitting  on  one  side  of  the  long  table  in  Kedar,  with 
heads  uncovered,  the  Sisters  on  the  other  side  not 
with  their  enveloping  bonnets,  but  bedecked  with 
the  pretty  prayer  covering,  which  they  always 
seemed  glad  to  wear,  which  was  a  neat  lace  cap 
with  strings  beneath  the  chin. 

After  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  I  raised  my 
head,  and  then  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  saw 
the  Sister  opposite  me — Bernice.  I  do  not  think 
she  saw  me  or  in  any  way  observed  me,  for  she 
seemed  rapt  in  ecstatic  adoration,  her  eyes  turned 
upward  and  her  lips  slightly  parted,  as  if  she  al- 
ready saw  and  heard  the  glories  of  that  heavenly 
home  she  was  to  visit  ere  many  years  passed  over 
her  fair  head. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  look,  that  face,  nearer 


A   LOVE   FEAST  89 

an  angel's  than  any  I  have  ever  seen.  An  unac- 
countable pity  swept  over  me,  and  that  pity  I  fear 
was  the  beginning  of  another  feeling  I  dared  not 
own.  But  my  dangerous  thoughts  were  soon  in- 
terrupted by  the  preparations  for  the  pedelavium, 
or  feet-washing.  Small  tubs  of  tepid  water  were 
brought  into  the  Saal.  The  Elder  washed  the  feet 
of  the  Brethren  and  the  eldest  Sister  performed  the 
same  humble  service  for  the  Sisters,  each  Brother 
and  Sister  after  the  feet  were  dried  receiving  from 
him  or  her  who  washed  the  feet,  a  shake  of  the 
hands  and  the  kiss  of  love  and  charity.  A  wicked 
wish  came  into  my  heart,  grieving  me  days  after 
for  my  perverse,  unspiritual  longing,  that  I  might 
take  the  place  of  the  eldest  Sister,  for  I  could 
willingly  suffer  the  kisses  of  all  the  other  Sisters 
for  merely  one  touch  of  the  lips  of  that  young 
angel  opposite  me. 

Fortunately,  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  were  so 
busy  in  their  devotions,  no  one  noticed  whether  or 
not  my  face  reflected  my  guilty  longings,  for  I  was 
so  absorbed  in  them  that  when  the  Elder  came 
to  me,  instead  of  my  feet  I  thrust  my  hands  down 
into  the  tub,  and  was  about  to  place  them  on  the 
Elder's  towel,  when  he,  unobserved  by  the  rest, 
gave  me  a  little  nudge  and  said  in  a  low  voice  but 
sternly,  "Art  crazy,  brother?  knowest  not  thy 
hands  from  thy  feet  ? " 

I  gazed  at  my  hands  for  a  moment,  and  then  as 


90  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

I  realized  my  folly,  I  dropped  my  feet  into  the 
tub  with  such  a  splash  that  Brother  Lamech  who 
was  seated  next  awaiting  his  turn,  being  utterly 
swallowed  up  in  worship  and  forgetting  whether 
or  not  his  feet  had  been  washed,  hastily  stuck 
them  out  past  me  into  the  Elder's  lap  just  as  I 
was  placing  mine  own  feet  there.  For  a  moment 
the  Elder  looked  at  us  both  in  such  solemn,  puz- 
zled disgust,  that  in  spite  of  my  natural  gravity  I 
almost  laughed  outright,  which  would  have  been 
most  sacrilegious.  Happily,  our  Elder  was  a  quick- 
witted man,  and  drying  our  intermingled  feet  as 
best  he  could,  he  passed  quietly  to  the  rest  who 
had  not  seen  the  little  complexity  down  the  line. 

The  feet-washing  being  completed,  and  we  all 
having  resumed  the  covering  of  our  feet,  we  turned 
around  on  our  benches  toward  the  table,  the 
Brothers  and  Sisters  again  facing  each  other. 
Then  came  the  evening  meal,  which  with  us  con- 
sisted of  lamb  soup  as  the  chief  dish,  while  bread 
and  apple-butter  were  served  to  the  strangers  and 
visitors  gathered  in  the  hall.  Brother  Beissel  hav- 
ing breathed  a  fervent  blessing  on  the  meal  we 
turned  to  it  in  absolute  silence.  And  yet  not  in 
utter  silence,  for  if  ever  heart  spake  to  heart  I 
know  mine  was  clamoring  most  violently,  and  I 
verily  believe  hers  was  too,  for  now  and  then,  not 
slyly  nor  shamefacedly,  the  sweet  face  opposite 
me  would  look  up  and  the  tenderest  shadow  of  a 


A    LOVE    FEAST  9 I 

smile  would  be  wafted  to  me.  I  know  little  of 
these  things,  but  I  believe  our  hearts  turned  each 
toward  the  other  without  the  power  to  stay  them, 
just  as  certain  as  flowers  turn  toward  the  light  and 
warmth  of  the  sun.  Those  gentle  smiles,  as  inno- 
cent and  guileless  as  a  child's,  filled  me  with  a 
happiness,  an  ecstatic  bliss  I  had  never  felt  at  any- 
other  love  feast.   It  was,  ah  me,  truly  a  feast  of  love. 

I  suppose  we  had  sat  there  forever  in  perfect 
happiness  and  content,  had  not  the  evening  serv- 
ices interrupted  our  foolish  bliss.  I  shall  not 
describe  what  followed  of  the  service,  for  they  were 
similar  to  the  love  feasts  that  are  still  observed  by 
our  little  congregation  ;  the  giving  of  thanks  at 
the  end  of  the  meal,  the  holy  kiss,  when  Brother 
kissed  Brother  and  Sister  kissed  Sister.  But  if  ever 
the  kisses  of  my  Brethren  seemed  stale  and  unprof- 
itable— may  I  be  forgiven  for  saying  this — 'twas 
then,  when  there  was  so  near  in  being  but  so  far  in 
possibility,  a  kiss  from  my  dear  young  sister. 

Alas,  what  a  garrulous  old  fool  I  am  to  be  writ- 
ing of  such  things  at  my  age.  But  I  cannot  help 
it,  for  if  ever  I  had  a  true  idea  of  what  heav- 
en's bliss  would  be  like  it  was  that  night.  If  such 
transcendent  joy  could  come  from  sweet  flesh  and 
blood  on  earth,  though  in  angelic  shape,  what 
joy  must  it  be  to  wander  forever  the  boundless 
realms  of  heaven  enraptured  with  the  love  of  the 
celestial  virgin. 


92  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

That  night  as  I  lay  down  on  my  hard  bench  in 
my  Kammer,  I  felt  for  the  first  time  as  though  it 
were  too  small  to  hold  all  the  joy  of  human  love 
and  the  pain  of  a  conscience  guilty  of  treason  to 
its  celestial  virgin.  What  little  sleep  visited  mine 
eyes  that  night  brought  visions  of  the  dear  sister 
in  the  form  of  our  spiritual  Eve,  and  when  morn- 
ing came  I  was  so  miserably  happy,  if  I  may  so 
say,  between  the  two  loves  I  hardly  knew  what  to 
do.  Nor  was  I  helped  much  during  the  day  when  I 
overheard  our  Elder  remark  to  Brother  Joseph  that 
he  had  never  seen  such  beautiful,  soul-absorbing 
observance  of  a  love  feast  as  that  shown  by  Brother 
Jabez  and  Brother  Lamech  the  night  before. 

This  was  more  than  I  could  bear,  and  I  laughed 
so  heartily  that  Sister  Maria,  who  afterward  be- 
came the  spiritual  leader  of  the  Sisterhood,  sud- 
denly coming  upon  me  held  up  her  hands  in  pious 
horror  at  such  unspeakable  levity.  I  did  many  a 
penance  that  week  before  I  felt  myself  absolved 
from  my  impious  frivolity.  I  have  often  thought 
since  then  how  many  a  time  we  are  praised  when 
we  deserve  blame  and  blamed  when  we  merit 
praise ;  and  indeed  it  hath  been  a  rule  of  my  life 
never  to  be  unduly  elated  by  praise,  or  on  the  other 
hand  unnecessarily  depressed  by  censure.  I  have 
always  set  one  against  the  other,  and  in  this  man- 
ner have  contrived  with  my  weak,  erring  temper 
to  preserve  a  fair  show  of  equanimity  and  serenity. 


A    LOVE   FEAST  93 

But  I  was  resolved  that  I,  Brother  Jabez,  the 
associate  superintendent  of  the  community,  would 
not  give  way  to  this  midsummer  madness,  and  so 
far  as  I  could  see,  Sister  Bernice  was  of  the  same 
mind.  I  saw  but  little  of  her,  and  when  we  did 
come  nigh  each  other,  which  was  seldom,  her 
averted  gaze  told  me  she  too  was  struggling  against 
our  sinful  love.  And  so  day  after  day  passed  around, 
filled  with  its  various  duties,  neither  Sister  Ber- 
nice nor  myself  giving  any  sign,  so  far  as  either  of 
us  was  aware,  of  our  poor,  forbidden  love,  though 
often  in  the  long  after  years  I  wondered  whether 
all  our  self-denial  of  this  sweet,  human  love  was 
not  a  greater  sacrifice  than  He  required  of  us. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF    ZION 

Lo,  this  only  have  I  found,  that  God  hath  made  man 
upright  ;  but  they  have  sought  out  many  inventions. 

—Bible. 

HIS  poor  love  for  my  Sis- 
ter Bernice  was  not  the 
only  thing  that  troubled 
me  about  this  time,  which 
was  in  the  same  year  that 
Brother  Bramer  passed 
away.  It  was  during  this 
very  year  of  1738  there 
occurred  one  of  the  most 
important  events  in  the 
history  of  our  community,  and  this  was  the  for- 
mation of  the  Zionitic  Brotherhood  by  the  Ecker- 
lings  and  their  deluded  followers,  and  the  erection 
of  a  large  building  for  the  use  of  their  mystical 
society.  While  Brother  Beissel  and  Brother  Wohl- 
forth  and  myself  and  our  followers  rejoiced  to  see 
that  from  all  parts  of  our  province  and  the  adjacent 
provinces  men  and  women  and  their  children 
flocked  to  us  and  became  part  of  our  community 
94 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF   ZION  95 

— so  that  our  secular  congregation  was  now  the 
largest  Sabbatarian  settlement  in  the  colonies — yet 
our  hearts  were  oft  weighed  down  with  apprehen- 
sions as  to  the  outcome  of  the  doings  of  these 
Eckerlings,  to  whose  foolish  and  ambitious  schemes 
there  seemed  no  end. 

These  Eckerling  brothers  were  the  strangest 
mixture  of  worldly  wisdom,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  most  perverse  and  ridiculous  religious  beliefs, 
on  the  other,  I  verily  believe,  I  have  ever  seen. 
While  we  taught  and  enjoined  the  purity  and  sim- 
plicity of  the  mode  of  life  of  the  early  Christians, 
the  Eckerlings  must  continually  be  running  after 
strange  gods,  so  that  at  this  time  and  for  many 
years  thereafter  we  were  in  great  danger  of  total 
disruption  ;  for  experience  clearly  showeth  the 
Scriptures  say  truly,  a  house  divided  against  itself 
must  fall. 

Thus  by  our  increased  membership  and  by  the 
scheming  of  our  Eckerlings  it  came  about  that  the 
Solitary  Brethren  clamored  for  a  building  similar 
to  the  Sisters'  house,  Kedar,  and  while  for  a  time 
the  project  was  kept  in  abeyance  by  lack  of  money, 
which  commodity  was  never  dangerously  plenty 
with  us,  yet  finally,  Brother  Benedict  (and  I  say 
this  to  his  praise),  a  young  Swiss  from  Kilchery- 
turnen,  a  scion  of  a  rich  family  of  Berne,  who  had 
joined  our  community,  came  forward  with  the 
necessary  funds.     Whereupon  it  came  to  pass  not- 


96  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

withstanding  our  opposition,  so  I  find  it  in  our 
Chronicon,  that,  "  Inflamed  by  the  love  of  God,  he 
resolved  to  devote  his  fortune  to  the  erection  of  a 
convent"  ;  which  was  accepted  as  coming  by  divine 
direction,  and  his  proposition  granted.  There  was 
in  the  settlement  a  pleasant  elevation  from  which 
one  had  a  beautiful  view  of  the  fertile  valley  and 
the  mountains  lying  opposite.  Of  this  height  the 
Brethren  in  the  hill  house  at  that  time  held  posses- 
sion. When  now  it  came  to  the  selection  of  a  site, 
the  most  held  that  the  valley  along  the  Cocalico 
creek  was  the  most  desirable  on  account  of  the 
water.  The  superintendent,  however,  went  up  the 
hill  until  he  came  within  the  limits  of  the  property 
of  the  hill  house,  and  there  was  the  site  chosen. 
By  this  the  spirit  of  wonders  indicated  at  the  very 
beginning  that  the  Brotherhood  would  at  first  build 
its  structure  on  the  heights  of  reason  and  thus 
soar  aloft  until  at  length  by  a  great  storm  they 
would  be  cast  down  into  the  valley ;  all  of  which 
was  afterwards  fulfilled  in  the  minutest  detail. 

The  site  for  the  new  chapter-house  having  been 
settled,  the  eager  Eckerlings,  like  children  hasten- 
ing toward  a  new  toy,  could  stand  no  delay.  The 
Brethren  must  be  pressed  into  immediate  service, 
and  every  one  joining  in  the  work  as  though  this 
heathenish  temple  were  unanimously  desired,  in  a 
wonderfully  short  time  we  had  cut  and  framed  the 
timbers,  and  a  day  was  fixed  in  the  month  of  May 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF    ZION  97 

when   the  building  was   to   be  raised  with  much 
ritual  and  ceremony. 

In  those  days  when  home  or  barn  or  mill  was  to 
be  built  the  "  raising  "  (by  which  we  meant  the 
putting  into  place  the  large,  heavy  timbers  for  the 
framework)  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  great 
gathering.  From  miles  around,  the  sturdy,  broad- 
shouldered  farmers  and  their  deep-bosomed  and 
hardly  less  broad-shouldered  wives,  and  even  the 
children,  would  come  trooping  along  to  take  part 
in  the  raising,  the  men  attending  to  the  heavier 
work  of  the  building  while  the  women  folk  took 
care  of  the  more  delicate  labor  of  the  cooking,  and 
when  we  had  our  raising  there  was  such  a  swarm- 
ing from  far  and  wide  that  the  Sisterhood,  aided 
by  the  visiting  wives  and  daughters,  were  driven 
to  make  such  mighty  preparations  for  the  hungry 
workmen  we  sometimes  wondered  where  all  the 
food  was  to  come  from  ;  but  our  kind  helpers, 
knowing  the  rigorous  state  of  our  larder  and 
relishing  not  overmuch  our  thin  and  ghostly  fare, 
brought  along  such  a  rich  store  of  meats  and 
jellies  and  preserves  as  threatened  to  ruin  forever 
the  stomachs  of  the  Solitary.  I  grieve,  moreover, 
to  say  that  on  this  occasion  many  a  Brother — I 
among  them — and  even  Sister,  did  in  the  hilarity 
and  good  cheer  vary  so  much  from  our  usual  tem- 
perance as  to  suffer  in  body  and  mind  for  some 
days  after  our  well-meaning  friends  had  left  us. 

H 


98  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Not  the  least  of  the  joyousness  of  this  raising 
was  that  in  the  evening  when  we  were  gathered, 
tired  and  hungry  as  wolves,  about  the  long,  wooden 
tables  in  Kedar,  Sister  Bernice  and  I  in  those  few 
days  saw  more  of  each  other  than  in  all  the  months 
since  that  blissful  love  feast.  It  hath  often  puzzled 
me,  even  now  I  know  not  the  explanation,  that  it 
happened  every  meal-time  Sister  Bernice  waited  on 
me  ;  for  the  Sisters  and  the  wives  insisting  the 
men  must  be  fed  first,  knowing  no  doubt  our  fret- 
ful natures  when  hungry,  gave  zest  to  the  meals 
by  adding  their  womanly  presence  in  the  serving 
of  the  food.  So,  as  I  have  said,  it  chanced  that 
Sister  Bernice  waited  on  me,  and  whether  or  not 
the  others  observed  the  foolishness  of  our  sweet 
love,  I  only  know  that  when,  most  unaccountably, 
in  handing  me  the  meats,  and  the  bread  and  the 
like,  her  hands  would  touch  me,  I  came  more  than 
once  so  near  grasping  those  wonderful  little,  soft 
things  in  mine,  that  most  of  the  meal-time  I  was 
distressed  lest  I  do  some  utterly  foolish  thing  that 
would  make  my  dear  sister  and  me  the  laughing- 
stock of  every  one  present,  and  this  I  determined 
must  not  be,  at  least  for  her  sake. 

Once,  though,  when  the  Evil  One  prompted  me 
no  one  was  looking,  and  I  pinched  gently  the  dear 
hand  that  for  a  moment  rested  lightly  on  the  table, 
just  by  my  arm,  whereat  she  smiled  at  me  with 
such  well-nigh  irresistible  sweetness  it  seemed  now 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF   ZION  99 

I  must  simply  take  her  in  mine  arms  and  say  to 
all,  "This  is  my  Sister  Bernice;  I  am  her  Brother 
Jabez.  We  love  each  other  better  than  life  "  ;  but 
some  remnant  of  common  sense  and  my  ever-present 
cowardice  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  love  saved 
us  both  from  any  noticeable  outbreak  of  our  sweet 
delirium.     Ah,  me  !  Ah,  me  ! 

But  if  there  was  great  hilarity  and  good  cheer 
after  the  labor  of  the  day  when  the  appetites  of  all 
did  full  justice  to  the  food  that  came  out  of  the 
Sisters'  kitchen,  even  this  was  nothing  compared 
with  the  bustle  and  noise  and  hurrying  to  and  fro 
that  attended  the  raising  of  the  timbers  into  their 
place  ;  for  even  the  heaviest  pieces  had  to  be  placed 
by  sheer  physical  strength,  the  broad-shouldered, 
iron-muscled  giants  puffing  and  straining  at  their 
tasks  ;  it  seemed  to  me  as  though  Hercules  and 
Atlas  had  come  to  earth  again,  in  the  forms  of 
these  powerful  farmers  and  woodsmen.  As  was  to 
be  expected,  great  rivalry,  though  in  the  best  of 
humor,  existed  between  these  giants  as  to  which 
could  put  up  the  heaviest  timbers  and  the  most 
speedily,  and  sometimes,  though  more  in  fun  than 
for  the  value  of  the  thing,  wagers  were  laid  as  to 
who  should  prove  the  stronger.  Where  there  is 
such  a  spirit  work  goes  on  rapidly,  and  in  a  very 
few  days  the  large  posts  and  the  beams  and  joists 
were  all  up  and  our  kind  helpers  ready  to  leave  us 
to  complete  the  lighter  but  more  tedious  portion 


IOO  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

of  the  task.  Fortunately  we  had  among  us  Breth- 
ren who  were  skilled  carpenters,  so  that  by  fall  the 
building  was  ready  for  actual  occupation,  though 
it  was  not  finished  until  five  years  later. 

This  building  was  erected  on  a  hill,  called  by  the 
Brethren  Mount  Sinai,  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Lager,  while  the  structure  itself  was  called  Zion. 
It  was  three  stories  in  height.  The  lower  floor 
consisted  of  one  large  room,  known  as  the  refec- 
tory, connected  with  which  were  three  small  cham- 
bers, Kabinettchen.  Of  these,  two  served  as  pan- 
tries for  storing  the  provisions  and  necessaries  for 
the  forty  days'  seclusion  which,  according  to  the 
beliefs  of  our  Eckerlings,  were  necessary  in  con- 
nection with  certain  rites  to  attain  perfection.  The 
remaining  chamber  consisted  of  receptacles  for  the 
paraphernalia  used  by  the  Eckerlings  in  their  cere- 
monies. The  second  floor  of  Zion  was  a  circular 
chamber  without  any  window  or  means  of  admit- 
ting light  from  the  outside.  In  the  center  on  a 
pedestal  was  placed  a  lamp  which  was  kept  burning 
continually  during  the  forty  days'  rite. 

Thirteen  cots  or  pallets  radiated  from  the  ped- 
estal like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  This  chamber 
was  known  as  "  Ararat,"  meaning  thereby  the 
heavenly  rest  the  Almighty  had  vouchsafed  exclu- 
sively to  his  chosen  people,  just  as  the  ark  of 
Noah  had  settled  down  on  the  mount  of  that 
name,  there  to  rest  forever. 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF   ZION  IOI 

The  third  or  upper  story  of  Zion  was  the  mys- 
tical chamber,  where  the  arcana  of  the  rite  were 
unfolded  to  the  Secluded.  This  room  was  entirely 
plain  and  measured  exactly  eighteen  feet  square, 
having  a  small  oval  window  in  each  side,  opening 
to  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  The 
only  access  to  this  chamber  was  through  a  trap- 
door in  the  floor,  and  it  was  in  this  chamber  that 
the  ceremonies  and  rites  were  performed  by  the 
thirteen  Brethren  who  were  striving  for  their 
moral  and  physical  regeneration  and  seeking  com- 
munication with  the  spirit  world. 

Zion  was  no  sooner  advanced  sufficiently  for 
occupation  than  the  necessary  provisions  and  para- 
phernalia were  obtained  and  preparations  were 
made  by  thirteen  of  our  Brethren  to  undergo  the 
ordeal,  which,  like  the  other  rites  and  ceremonies 
taught  by  the  Eckerlings,  were  nothing  more  than 
what  was  known  as  the  "strict  observance,"  or 
the  Egyptian  cult  of  mystic  Freemasonry. 

At  the  conclusion  of  certain  religious  services, 
among  which  was  the  repeating  in  concert  of  the 
fortieth  Psalm,  a  procession  was  formed  and  thir- 
teen elect  of  the  Brethren  were  escorted  up  the 
hill  to  the  doors  of  the  building,  which,  as  soon  as 
the  adepts  had  entered,  were  securely  locked  to 
prevent  any  intrusion  or  interruption  during  the 
forty  days'  retirement  from  the  outside  world. 

I  had  been  greatly  surprised  to  see  that  of  the 


102  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

thirteen  selected  for  the  ordeal,  Gabriel  Eckerling, 
or  Brother  Jotham,  had  been  chosen  prior  instead 
of  the  eldest  of  the  Eckerling  brothers,  Israel,  or 
Brother  Onesimus. 

As  the  doors  closed  upon  the  last  of  the  mis- 
guided thirteen,  I  turned  to  Brother  Beissel  and 
said,  "Why  hath  not  Brother  Onesimus  been 
chosen  prior  ? "  for  it  was  well  known  to  all  of  us 
that  the  eldest  of  the  Eckerlings  was  the  real 
leader  in  all  these  schemes. 

Brother  Beissel  looked  at  me  quietly  for  a  mo- 
ment and  then  said  so  low  only  I  and  Brother 
Wohlforth,  who  was  standing  near,  could  hear; 
"  It  meaneth  naught  other  than  that  Beelzebub 
hath  some  deep  plan  laid  for  our  undoing.  What 
sayest  thou,  Brother  Wohlforth  ?  " 

"  I  know  not  what  it  meaneth,  but  I  feel  sure  it 
portendeth  some  evil,  for  our  Brother  Onesimus 
would  not  relinquish  the  honor  of  being  prior  if  it 
were  not  that  he  hath  somewhat  else  to  attend  to 
to  complete  his  plans  while  our  thirteen  idolaters 
are  practising  their  abominations." 

"  Perchance,"  I  suggested,  "  our  Brother  Onesi- 
mus thinketh  it  necessary  to  keep  watch  over  us 
while  the  others  are  shut  up  in  Zion  for  their  forty 
days'  regeneration." 

"  I  doubt  not  thou  art  right,"  said  our  leader, 
and  Brother  Wohlforth  also  seemed  to  think  that 
Brother  Onesimus  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  incar- 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF   ZION  103 

cerate  himself  for  forty  days  and  leave  us  un- 
watched  by  him  for  that  time ;  but  his  own  slyness 
in  time  proved  his  overthrow. 

I  have  not  space  here  to  set  forth  in  detail  all 
the  practices  of  our  thirteen  neophytes,  which  at 
this  time  were  known  only  to  the  Eckerlings  and 
their  followers,  being,  as  I  said,  a  sort  of  Free- 
masonry, but  in  later  years  I  learned  from  Sonn- 
lein  a  great  deal  concerning  this  ordeal  and  it  may 
be  that,  later,  I  shall  have  somewhat  to  say  of  it. 

I  do  know  this,  however,  that  at  the  end  of  the 
forty  days  the  thirteen  emerged,  claiming  they  had 
successfully  completed  the  ordeal,  with  physical 
bodies  as  clean  and  pure  as  though  new-born,  their 
spirits  filled  with  divine  light,  visions  without  limit, 
mental  power  sunbounded,  and  no  other  ambi- 
tion than  to  enjoy  a  state  of  complete  rest  and 
peace  while  waiting  for  immortality,  so  that  each 
could  say  at  the  end,  "  I  am  that  I  am."  So  far 
as  I  could  see,  and  I  say  this  not  in  levity  or  preju- 
dice but  as  being  absolutely  true,  all  the  change  I 
could  see  beyond  their  looking  even  thinner  and 
paler  than  before,  each  of  the  regenerated  could 
say  more  truly  instead  of,  "I  am  that  I  am,"  "I 
am  what  I  was  before  I  entered."  I  could  not  see 
in  all  my  later  life  that  physically  or  mentally  or 
religiously  these  adepts  were  any  different  or  better 
than  the  rest  of  us,  but  seemed  subject  to  the  same 
weakness  and  infirmities  as  the  unregenerated,  only 


104  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

that  the  silly  thirteen  did  ever  after  by  their  aver- 
sion for  labor  show  they  really  believed  they  had 
attained  a  state  of  complete  rest. 

All  of  which  goes  to  show  that  in  every  commu- 
nity error  is  bound  to  come  and  that  there  are  ever 
those  who,  not  content  with  serving  God  in  the 
simple  manner  he  hath  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures, 
must  devise  all  sorts  of  foolish  and  even  difficult 
modes  of  living  the  Almighty  doth  not  ask  for  and 
which,  I  doubt,  not  do  not  please  him. 

However,  while  our  Vorsteher,  or  superintendent, 
and  Brother  Wohlforth  and  myself  were  not  in 
accord  with  the  Eckerlings  and  their  followers  in 
establishing  the  Zionitic  Brotherhood,  who  were 
ever  looked  upon  with  awe  and  veneration  by  the 
secular  members,  we  did  all  in  our  power  to  live 
peaceably  with  them,  Brother  Beissel  even  bring- 
ing out  a  hymn  book,  known  as  the  "  Weyraitcti s 
Hiigel"  (Incense  Hill),  for  the  use  of  the  Brother- 
hood as  well  as  for  general  circulation  among  the 
Germans  in  the  province. 

According  to  the  ritual  of  the  Eckerlings,  Wey- 
raucli  meant  nothing  more  than  Gebet,  or  prayer. 
It  was  taught  that  the  gum,  made  after  a  mystical 
formula  and  kept  exclusively  for  religious  uses, 
when  ignited  during  supplication  or  prayer  became 
corporeal  and  was  wafted  in  fragrant  clouds  to 
heaven.  Htigel,  or  hillock,  also  denotes  an  object 
held  in  special  veneration,  as  the  rising  sun  first 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF   ZION  105 

gilds  the  hilltops  in  the  east,  and  it  is  well  known 
that  from  time  immemorial  hills  have  always  been 
designated  as  holy  ground  and  were  the  chosen 
places  for  offering  sacrifices,  so  that  the  title  of 
the  hymn  book  meant  to  the  adepts  more  than  a 
mere  hill  of  incense.  It  typified  the  book  as  a 
volume  of  prayer  which,  if  properly  used  would, 
like  the  visible  flames  of  the  burning  incense,  go 
direct  to  the  throne  of  grace. 

But  this  peace  offering,  besides  containing  a  few 
old,  popular  German  hymns,  being  chiefly  made 
up  of  hymns  composed  by  Brother  Beissel  and  the 
rest  of  the  Solitary,  like  so  many  other  peace  offer- 
ings failed  to  effect  its  purpose.  Not  only  did  the 
Eckerlings  grow  more  and  more  swollen  in  their 
power  and  arrogance,  but  the  printing  of  the  book 
itself  was  greatly  delayed ;  and  as  our  good  Chris- 
topher Sauer,  the  printer,  of  Germantown,  to  whom 
it  was  intrusted  for  publication,  saw  fit  to  make 
himself  a  censor  of  the  hymns,  it  so  occurred  that 
when  the  four  hundredth  hymn  was  set  up,  a  per- 
sonal controversy,  exceedingly  bitter,  arose  and 
ended  in  an  estrangement  lasting  fully  ten  years, 
during  which  our  leader  and  our  printer  hurled  at 
each  other  most  violent  accusations,  the  printer 
evidently  being  firm  in  his  mind  that  our  leader 
regarded  himself  as  somewhat  of  a  pope  or  a 
Christ,  before  whom  all  others  must  bow. 

Indeed,    there   were    during    Brother    Beissel's 


106  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

leadership  many  false  stories  current  about  him, 
rising  through  superstition  or  enmity,  the  coarser 
part  of  the  people  regarding  him  as  a  great  wizard, 
fully  believing  that  the  spirit  whom  he  served  had 
at  times  made  our  brother  invisible;  wherefore  it  is 
related  that  a  justice  of  the  peace  sent  a  constable 
after  our  leader  with  a  warrant,  taking  care  to  send 
an  assistant.  As  the  constable  and  his  assistant 
came  toward  the  cabin  down  in  the  meadow  where 
our  leader  lived,  they  saw  him  go  into  his  cabin 
with  a  pitcher  of  water ;  they  followed  him,  and 
while  one  stationed  himself  at  the  door,  the  other 
searched  the  house  from  top  to  bottom,  but  no  sup- 
erintendent was  to  be  found.  Greatly  bewildered 
and  even  alarmed  at  such  witchcraft  they  departed, 
and  after  they  were  some  distance  from  the  house, 
on  looking  back  they  saw  our  leader  come  out  as 
though  naught  had  happened. 

It  is  also  true,  and  I  regret  to  say  it,  that  many 
of  our  Brothers,  and  even  the  Sisters,  who  seem 
ever  given  to  idolizing,  fell  to  the  other  extreme 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  John  the  Baptist,  wondered 
whether  our  leader  might  not  be  Christ.  Even 
Brother  Onesimus  once  tried  to  poison  my  mind 
against  our  superintendent  by  remarking  that  even 
he  thought  that,  perhaps,  our  leader  might  be 
Christ,  whereupon  I  rebuked  our  Brother  Onesi- 
mus so  soundly  for  his  folly,  I  never  again  heard 
him  repeat  such  nonsense. 


THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF   ZION  IO7 

Thus  it  went  back  and  forth  so  that  it  seemed 
the  conflict  between  our  leader  and  the  printer 
were  never  to  cease,  the  printer  publishing  it  far 
and  wide  that  our  superintendent  was  born  under 
a  strange  conjunction  of  the  stars  and  that  a  num- 
ber of  planets  manifested  in  him  their  character- 
istics :  from  Mars,  our  superintendent  had  his 
great  severity ;  from  Jupiter,  his  friendliness ;  from 
Venus,  that  the  female  sex  ran  after  him  ;  while 
Mercury  had  given  him  the  arts  of  the  comedian  ; 
and  not  content  with  this,  our  printer  must  even 
go  so  far  as  to  say  of  our  superintendent :  "  In 
many  points  he  is  very  close  to  Gichtel  and  still 
closer  to  the  little  beast  described  in  Revelation 
13  :  11,  which  represents  his  peculiarity  in  spiritual 
things.  His  figure  is  such  that  if  one  beseeches 
him  he  has  the  horns  of  a  lamb,  but  if  one  touches 
his  temper  a  little  he  speaks  like  a  dragon,  and 
is,  indeed,  not  to  be  regarded  as  the  first  great 
beast,  whose  number  is  66.  He  is  not  so  beast- 
like, but  is  also  not  clean  Godly,  but  is  humanly 
peculiar  and  no  other  than  CVnraDVs  BelseLVs 
DcLVWI— 666." 

All  of  which  goeth  to  show  that  when  one 
man  hateth  another  beyond  all  reason,  the  hater 
maketh  a  greater  fool  of  himself  than  of  him  who 
is  derided. 


CHAPTER  XI 

BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY 

No  great  genius  was  ever  without  some  mixture  of  mad- 
ness, nor  can  anything  grand  or  superior  to  the  voice  of 
common  mortals  be  spoken  except  by  the  agitated  soul. 

— Aristotle. 


ROTHER  AGONIUS, 

his  real  name  being 
Michael  Wohlforth,  or 
Welfare,  as  he  was 
known  among  the 
English  settlers — what 
a  shock,  notwithstand- 
ing our  boasted  forti- 
tude and  resignation, 
his  death  was  to  us ! 
He  was  born,  as  became  his  warlike  soul,  at  the 
fortress  of  Memel,  on  the  Baltic  Sea.  Coming  to 
this  New  World  in  his  early  youth,  he  at  once 
joined  himself  to  the  Pietists,  the  Hermits  of  the 
Wissahickon ;  but  he  remained  not  long  there,  for 
his  fiery,  intrepid  zeal  left  him  no  other  mind  but 
that  he  must  journey  to  and  fro,  near  and  far,  even 
making  a  long  and  dangerous  journey  to  the  Ger- 
108 


BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY        IO9 

mans  of  North  Carolina,  preaching  to  them  as  he 
did  to  every  one,  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
wherever  he  went,  to  repent  their  godless  lives  and 
to  submit  themselves  wholly  to  the  Master's  will. 

Upon  his  return,  in  1723,  from  that  distant 
province,  he  joined  himself  to  our  Vorsteher  who, 
as  "Brother  Beissel,"  was  then  living  the  life  of  a 
Solitary  in  the  depths  of  a  forest  not  many  miles 
north  from  Ephrata,  which  at  that  time  had  not  yet 
been  founded.  In  the  solitude  of  this  forest  these 
two  hermits,  so  alike  in  their  energetic,  impetuous, 
stubborn  zeal,  lived  a  life  of  silent  contemplation 
and  adoration  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Creator  for 
some  time,  and  from  thenceforth  even  though  they 
differed  not  infrequently  with  all  the  force  and 
outspoken  directness  of  their  strong-willed  natures, 
yet  were  they  firm  friends  and  companions  until 
death  separated  them. 

I  recall  how  in  later  years  in  our  Kloster  life  at 
Ephrata,  when  we  had  built  Kedar  and  the  other 
houses  of  worship,  as  I  have  already  related,  he 
became  alarmed  at  their  size,  and  deprecated  espe- 
cially the  innovation  of  the  innocent  bells,  so  that 
for  a  time  he  withdrew  from  us  and  again  became 
a  hermit,  in  the  mountains  of  Zoar,  some  five 
miles  from  the  Kloster ;  but  he  soon  resumed  his 
life  with  us  to  remain  as  a  valued  co-worker  for 
the  rest  of  his  days. 

And  now  that   he  was   gone,   how  we  missed 


HO  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

him  !  His  boldness,  aggressiveness,  his  fearless- 
ness and  fidelity  in  proclaiming  far  and  wide  his 
doctrine  as  to  the  Seventh  Day  Sabbath  made  his 
death  a  heavy  loss  not  only  to  our  community,  but 
to  all  the  Sabbatarians,  German  and  English,  in 
the  province.  He  would  travel  on  foot,  no  matter 
how  hard  and  toilsome  the  way,  staff  in  hand,  in 
pilgrim  garb,  and  no  matter  whether  by  country 
roadside  or  in  the  slave  markets  in  the  streets  of 
the  chief  city  of  our  province,  in  church  or  meet- 
ing-house, wherever  he  could  find  an  audience, 
large  or  small,  to  listen  to  his  voice,  he  would 
stand  boldly  forth,  yet  in  the  spirit  of  humility, 
and  exhort  and  admonish  with  all  his  power,  in 
German  or  in  English,  speaking  both  with  equal 
ease,  oblivious  of  taunts  and  revilings  and  perse- 
cutions, that  his  hearers  live  in  obedience  to  God's 
commands  as  to  the  Sabbath  day. 

To  Brother  Beissel  and  to  me  the  death  of  our 
brother  came  with  far  greater  force  than  to  the 
rest  of  the  Solitary.  Even  more  than  our  super- 
intendent and  myself  he  was  unalterably  opposed 
to  the  Eckerlings  and  their  unchristian  innova- 
tions ;  for  it  can  be  said  in  all  moderation  that 
hardly  would  we  three  succeed  in  overthrowing 
some  especially  offensive  scheme  of  the  Ecker- 
ings  when  one  of  the  remaining  four  would  present 
something  new  to  torment  us. 

One  of  their  abominations,  which  originated  in 


BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY       III 

the  busy  mind  of  Emanuel  Eckerling,  Brother 
Elimelech,  was  the  baptism  of  the  living  for  the 
dead,  and  so  persistent  and  subtle  were  his  argu- 
ments that  he  finally  won  over  to  him  our  super- 
intendent in  spite  of  all  that  Brother  Agonius  and 
I  could  do  to  save  our  leader  from  this  tremendous 
foolishness. 

So  it  came  about  that  on  a  certain  day  a  proces- 
sion was  formed  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Zion,  the 
Spiritual  Virgins,  and  the  secular  congregation, 
and  as  they  wended  their  way  slowly  and  solemnly 
down  the  hill  and  across  the  meadow  to  a  pool  in 
the  Cocalico,  Brother  Agonius  and  I  having  stead- 
fastly refused  to  countenance  in  any  way  the  thing, 
were  nevertheless  compelled  to  say  to  each  other 
that  our  Brothers  and  Sisters  were  an  impressive 
sight.  The  solemn  procession  having  arrived  at 
the  pool  special  hymns  were  sung  and  fervent  in- 
vocations were  made,  intended  no  doubt  to  ascend, 
but  which  to  my  wrathful  mood  seemed  more  fit 
to  descend. 

I  care  not  to  dwell  longer  on  this  irreligious 
proceeding  than  to  say  that,  with  Brother  Beissel 
as  administrator,  Emanuel  Eckerling  was  immersed 
for  his  dead  mother,  and  Alexander  Mack  the 
younger,  for  his  dead  father,  although  these  de- 
parted ones  had  both  been  baptized  in  their  own 
flesh  in  Germany.  Indeed,  this  baptismal  fever 
became  so  virulent  that  everybody,  irrespective  of 


112  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

faith,  was  becoming  baptized  for  some  deceased 
relative,  so  that  I  gravely  wondered  whether  or 
not  some  utterly  daft  ones  would  be  baptized  for 
Adam  and  Eve. 

Another  scheme  of  the  Eckerlings,  into  which 
our  leader  fell  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  was 
that  instead  of  "  Brother  Beissel,"  he  should  be 
called  "  Vater  Friedsam"  (Father  Friedsam,  mean- 
ing the  peaceful  one).  This  suggestion  caused 
great  uproar  among  us  which  finally  settled  itself 
into  an  agreement  that  the  Solitary  should  call  him 
"Father,"  and  the  secular  congregation,  "Brother," 
and  so  it  remained  for  a  number  of  years,  but  as 
for  me,  I  always  called  him  "  Brother  " — "  Timeo 
Danaos  et  donafei'entes." 

Would  I  could  say  I  were  done  telling  of  these 
Eckerlings,  for  it  seemeth  to  require  as  long  to 
get  rid  of  them  here  in  the  writing  as  it  did  to  get 
them  out  of  our  community.  About  this  time  a 
pilgrimage  from  Ephrata  was  made  by  Brother 
Beissel  and  Brothers  Elimelech  and  Onesimus  and 
one  or  two  others  of  the  Solitary  to  the  Dunker 
settlement  at  Amwell,  in  our  sister  province  of 
New  Jersey,  with  whom  we  had  become  acquainted 
about  two  years  prior  hereto.  The  charge  of  this 
pilgrimage  was  in  Brother  Elimelech,  but  he  was 
with  our  Amwell  Brethren  only  a  short  time  when 
he  succeeded  in  making  as  much  trouble  for  them 
as  he  had  already  made  for  us.     First,  because 


BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY        113 

when  he  preached  he  kept  on  and  never  knew 
when  to  stop  so  that  even  though  his  hearers  were 
used  to  long  sermons  the  utmost  patience  could 
not  endure  his  protracted  discourses.  Secondly, 
because  of  his  proposing  midnight  watches  and 
the  like,  such  as  had  been  fastened  on  us,  so  that 
finally  he  was  dismissed  and  returned  to  us  in  dis- 
grace. But  as  there  is  some  good  in  all  misfor- 
tune so  it  resulted  that  out  of  the  strained  condi- 
tions in  the  Amwell  congregation  a  number  of 
their  brethren,  among  them  Dietrich  Fahnestock, 
Conrad  Boldhauser,  Johannes  Mohr,  Bernhard 
Gitter  and  several  others  with  their  families,  came 
to  us  and  either  joined  the  Solitary  or  our  secular 
congregation. 

Hardly  had  this  storm  subsided  than  our  Brother 
Onesimus,  thinking  no  doubt  it  was  his  turn,  con- 
cluded that  even  though  properly  baptized  and 
notwithstanding  he  had  taken  the  vows  of  celi- 
bacy, yet  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  him  from 
re-entering  the  world  and  marrying,  so  he  advised 
the  Brotherhood  to  make  a  new  covenant  with  the 
Virgin  Mary  as  the  patroness  of  their  Order. 

As  a  visible  sign  of  their  betrothal  to  the  virgin, 
Brother  Onesimus  advised  that  the  Brothers  and 
Sisters  all  cut  the  tonsure.  Brother  Beissel,  who 
always  counseled  chastity  and  celibacy,  fell  into 
this  folly  of  the  Eckerlings  just  as  readily  as  he 
had  into  the  former  ones  and  hardly  had  the  prior 


114 


A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 


convened  the  Brotherhood  in  the  chapter  house, 
where  each  Brother  in  turn  kneeling  down  repeated 
his  pledge  of  celibacy  and  had  his  hair  cut  and  his 
crown  shorn,  when  our  leader,  not  to  be  outdone 
by  the  prior,  called  together  the  Spiritual  Virgins, 
in  their  Saul. 

After  reconsecrating  the  assembled  Sisters  to 
the  heavenly  Bridegroom,  Brother  Beissel,  with 
the  assistance  of  another  Brother,  cut  the  hair  of 
each  of  the  Sisterhood  in  the  manner  of  the  primi- 
tive Christian  church,  after  which  the  crowns  of 
the  Sisters  were  likewise  shorn,  our  superintendent 
gathering  up  the  tresses  and  carrying  them  to  Zion 
where  he  laid  them  upon  the  altar  expressing  the 
wish  that  he  might  live  until  the  Sisters'  heads 
were  gray — and  it  was  further  resolved  and  or- 
dered that  the  tonsure  was  to  be  renewed  every 
three  months  and  in  the  meantime  no  one  was  to 
put  shears  to  his  or  her  head.  Thus  was  another 
madness  inflicted  upon  us. 

Our  prior  continuing  to  exalt  himself  in  his 
priesthood,  had  our  Sisters  make  for  him  a  robe 
or  costume  such  as  is  described  in  the  Bible  as 
having  been  worn  by  the  high  priest  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  when  our  prior  presided  thereafter  at  the 
agapce  and  baptisms  he  presented  to  the  unso- 
phisticated a  most  gorgeous  sight,  while  to  me  the 
whole  thing  was  disgusting.  Following  the  tonsure 
and  the  priestly  robe  Prior  Onesimus  introduced 


BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY         115 

night-watches  and  processions,  which  resulted  not 
only  that  our  superintendent  was  virtually  super- 
seded by  our  cunning  prior,  but  what  was  far  worse, 
these  abominations,  so  foreign  to  our  simple  Sab- 
batarian precepts,  becoming  known  to  the  surround- 
ing country  brought  additional  ridicule  and  con- 
tempt upon  us  and  for  many  years  wherever  we 
went  we  had  hurled  at  us  such  epithets  (Schimpf- 
worte)  as  Glatzkopfe  (bald  heads),  Vollmonde  (full 
moons),  Bettel-Monche  (beggar  friars),  and  Pfaffen- 
miicker  (Papish  double-dealers).  Not  only  were 
we  compelled  to  listen  to  such  nicknames,  but  by 
reason  of  this  aping  of  the  monastic  customs  of 
the  Middle  Ages  we  incurred  the  ire  of  the  Scotch- 
Irish  settlers,  hard-headed  Presbyterians,  between 
the  Octoraro  and  the  Susquehanna,  so  that  no 
matter  what  we  or  our  friends  said  to  the  contrary, 
these  stubborn  old  Covenanters  were  sure  we  were 
nothing  but  a  nest  of  Jesuit  emissaries,  and  the 
"croppies,"  as  our  Presbyterian  friends  were  wont 
to  call  us  were  decried  from  their  pulpits  as  well 
as  held  up  to  scorn  by  the  members  of  that  church 
wherever  and  whenever  the  opportunity  afforded. 

Still  the  Eckerlings  went  on  in  their  unceasing 
activities.  Having  built  Zion  according  to  their 
own  ideas,  they  were,  however,  not  contented ;  for 
as  they  had  left  no  room  for  the  congregational 
gatherings  all  the  assemblages  and  love  feasts 
were  held  in   the  house  of  prayer  adjoining  the 


I  1 6  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Sister  house,  Kedar ;  but  as  the  Zionitic  Brother- 
hood had  to  traverse  the  intervening  distance  in 
all  kinds  of  bad  weather  and  as  the  nightly  pro- 
cessions had  to  take  their  way  toward  the  habita- 
tion of  the  Spiritual  Virgins  all  sorts  of  unfavora- 
ble comments  were  made  by  the  outsiders,  who, 
judging  from  their  own  evil  minds,  did  not  hesitate 
to  call  into  question  the  honesty  of  the  Brethren 
in  their  adherence  to  their  vows. 

Thus  it  was  determined  to  erect  a  building  which 
should  be  a  combined  prayer  and  schoolhouse,  to 
adjoin  Zion  and  be  large  enough  to  accommodate 
the  secular  congregation  as  well  as  all  the  Solitary 
within  the  community,  and  so  rapidly  did  the  work 
progress  and  so  favorable  was  the  weather  (although 
it  was  late  in  the  fall  not  a  drop  of  rain  or  flake  of 
snow  or  frost  appeared  until  the  middle  of  the  fol- 
lowing January),  that  the  work  on  the  chapel  went 
on  without  intermission  or  hindrance,  so  that  by 
the  following  summer,  Zion's  Saal,  as  it  was  called, 
a  stately  three-story  structure,  was  completed,  the 
lower  floor  being  for  worship  and  the  second  for 
the  love  feasts  and  pedelaviiim  and  the  third  being 
divided  into  small  cells  for  the  Solitary  Brothers 
of  the  Zionitic  Order.  In  July  of  1740  the  last 
joint  services  were  held  in  Kedar,  to  which  all  the 
Sabbatarians,  far  and  near,  were  invited,  not  ex- 
cepting the  Welsh  and  English  Brethren  in  Nant- 
mill   and    Newtown,    invitations    being   scattered 


BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY        11/ 

broadcast  even  among  the  Germans  beyond  the 
Schuylkill,  and  to  all  who  came  the  hospitality  of 
the  community  was  most  cordially  extended.  After 
that  time  Kedar  fell  exclusively  to  the  Order  of 
Spiritual  Virgins. 

Not  two  weeks  later  the  Brotherhood  of  Zion 
dedicated  their  new  temple,  at  midnight,  the  prior 
not  losing  the  opportunity  for  making  the  occasion 
remarkable  for  an  interminable  number  of  proces- 
sions, incantations,  prayers,  and  mysterious  cere- 
monies, said  to  date  from  Pharaoh,  from  whose 
bondage  we,  unlike  the  children  of  Israel,  did  not 
seem  able  to  free  ourselves. 

About  a  month  later,  our  Brother  Beissel,  being 
now  the  acknowledged  superintendent  of  our  entire 
community,  must  surrender  himself  so  completety 
to  the  vanities  of  the  Eckerlings  that  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  whole  congregation,  from  among  whom 
I  saw  Sister  Bernice  look  at  me  with  shy  pride,  he 
solemnly  consecrated  Brother  Onesimus,  Brother 
Enoch,  and  myself  to  the  priesthood,  by  the  lay- 
ing on  of  hands,  after  which  with  most  solemn  and 
ancient  ceremony  we  had  conferred  on  us  the  cen- 
turies-old Order  of  Melchizedek,  although  what 
this  order  had  to  do  with  our  Christian  life,  I  con- 
fess I  have  never  yet  found  out,  only  consenting 
to  the  doubtful  honor  in  order  to  appease  our 
superintendent's  displeasure,  whose  rigorous  spirit 
often  pressed  on  my  slower  one. 


I  1 8  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

And  now,  our  superintendent,  assuming  the  role 
of  Grand  Master  of  the  Zionitic  Brotherhood,  de- 
posed Brother  Jotham  and  in  his  stead,  despite  the 
protests  of  himself  and  his  following,  appointed 
Brother  Onesimus,  Prior,  or  Perfect  Master,  of  the 
Brotherhood.  Our  new  prior,  however,  was  even 
worse  than  his  brother  and  applied  the  discipline 
of  the  order  so  rigidly  that  I  was  compelled  to 
write  to  a  friend,  that  "  Now  was  there  between 
the  poor  devotees  of  Ephrata  and  the  wool-headed 
African  slaves  no  other  difference  than  that  we 
are  white  and  free  slaves,"  and  indeed,  I  fear  I 
almost  felt  toward  the  Eckerlings  like  the  English 
king  who  wondered  whether  there  was  no  one  to 
rid  him  of  his  enemies. 

At  the  risk  of  trespassing  too  far  on  the  patience 
of  those  who  may  read  this,  I  shall  narrate  of  the 
clock  and  bells  donated  to  the  community  by  my 
father,  and  which  the  Eckerlings  obtained  permis- 
sion to  place  in  the  steeple  over  the  roof  of  the 
Saal.  This  clock  held  an  ingenious  attachment 
for  chiming  the  bells  and  for  ringing  them  at  cer- 
tain times  during  the  day  and  night,  to  call  us  to 
our  various  and  now  almost  innumerable  devo- 
tions. When  this  bell  was  rung  at  midnight, 
not  only  did  the  Solitary  arise  from  their  wooden 
couches,  but  for  miles  around,  whenever  the  notes 
of  the  bell  could  be  heard,  all  the  families  arose 
also  and  held  their  worship  at  the  same  time  ;  but 


BROTHER  AGONIUS  AND  HIS  PROPHECY   II9 

though  the  fires  of  first  love  for  their  faith  burned 
strongly  among  the  secular  members  at  this  time, 
yet  it  finally  came  about  that  the  congregation 
demanded  a  house  where  they  could  worship  un- 
hindered by  the  exacting  rules  and  ceremonies  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Zion,  who  seeing  in  this  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  securing  their  temple 
wholly  to  their  own  uses,  fell  in  with  might  and 
main  to  prepare  the  frame  and  timbers  for  another 
prayer  house,  nominally  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
secular  members. 

And  now,  though  all  our  houses  of  worship  were 
on  the  higher  ground,  the  site  for  this  new  temple 
was  chosen  down  in  the  meadow,  and  this  less  pre- 
tentious Saal  still  survives,  while  its  loftily  situated 
and  proud  predecessors  have  long  ago  passed  away. 
Thus  as  the  Lord  hath  promised  doth  he  exalt  the 
lowly  and  bring  down  the  haughty. 

In  size  the  new  prayer  house  was  to  be  forty 
feet  square  and  that  many  feet  in  height,  thus 
symbolizing  the  perfect  number,  although  it  hath 
been  claimed  that  some  of  the  builders  wondering 
what  might  happen  if  they  followed  not  the  per- 
fect proportions,  made  the  width  two  feet  narrower 
and  the  height  somewhat  greater  than  forty  feet. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  I  have  not  seen  in  these  fifty 
years  since  the  building  was  put  up  that  the  varia- 
tion, if  there  were  such,  hath  made  any  difference 
for  good  or  ill. 


120  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

But  the  good  fortune  attending  us  during  the 
building  of  the  Saal  forsook  us  now,  for  many  de- 
lays and  heavy  disappointments  fell  upon  us  ere 
our  task  was  performed ;  for  the  weather  during 
the  fall  and  winter  of  1740  and  1741  was  excep- 
tionally hard,  there  being  the  severest  storms  and 
the  extremest  cold.  Never  since  have  I  seen  such 
cold  and  sleet  and  ice  and  snow  as  during  that 
awful  winter.  The  Cocalico  was  completely  hid- 
den under  its  thick  covering  of  ice  and  snow  so 
that  a  stranger  would  not  have  known  there  was 
a  stream  there.  At  times  the  snow  was  three  feet 
deep  on  the  level,  and  where  it  had  drifted  from 
the  winds,  cabins  and  outbuildings  were  completely 
covered  over.  Families  were  imprisoned  in  their 
homes.  Cattle  died  from  want  of  fodder.  Even 
the  wild  beasts  in  the  forest,  though  knowing  so 
well  how  to  take  care  of  themselves,  died  of  hun- 
ger, so  that  deer  were  found  dead  in  the  woods. 
Indeed,  it  was  no  infrequent  sight  to  see  the  pretty 
animals,  usually  so  timid,  driven  by  their  great 
hunger  to  the  very  cabin  doors  for  food,  sometimes 
even  mingling  with  the  cattle.  The  settlers,  espe- 
cially of  the  more  remote  districts,  suffered  greatly 
from  lack  of  bread,  and  had  little  to  live  on  but 
the  carcasses  of  the  deer  found  in  the  swamps. 
Even  the  Indians  suffered  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  game.  Often  during  the  night  there  would  be 
borne  to  our  ears  the  strangest  sounds,  heavings, 


BROTHER  AGONIUS  AND  HIS  PROPHECY   121 

and  groan ings  from  the  ice-bound,  rebellious  Co- 
calico,  the  walls  of  our  buildings  even  seeming  to 
strain  and  crack  as  though  they  would  fall  asunder. 
Sometimes  at  long  intervals  during  those  dark, 
bitter,  cold  nights  there  would  fall  from  the 
depths  of  the  sky  the  trumpet  calls  of  wild  fowls, 
winging  their  way  I  know  not  whither,  but  still,  I 
know,  within  His  care.  At  times,  these  shrill  cries 
came  with  such  strength  and  suddenness  that  Sonn- 
lein  would  jump  up  out  of  the  soundest  sleep,  cud- 
dling up  close  to  me  as  though  only  I  could  save 
him  from  those  mysterious,  threatening  voices. 

But  the  Solitary,  despite  the  severity  of  the  win- 
ter, pressed  on  at  every  relaxation  of  the  weather 
toward  the  completion  of  our  new  prayer  house, 
and  as  the  spring  opened,  we  being  now  joined  by 
the  congregation  at  large,  the  work  went  on  rapidly, 
though  the  building  which  our  superintendent 
named  "  Peniel "  (being  the  name  Jacob  gave  to 
the  place  where  he  wrestled  with  God),  was  not 
made  tenantable  until  the  following  December, 
when  it  was  duly  consecrated  to  God. 

All  during  this  hard  winter  I  could  see  that 
Brother  Agonius,  his  hardy  frame  worn  out  by 
excessive  zeal,  was  suffering  keenly  from  the  cold, 
piercing  winds,  and  I  felt  with  deepening  sadness, 
day  after  day  as  I  saw  his  infirmity  increase,  that 
our  brother  must  soon  cease  to  be  among  us.  How 
bravely  he  fought  to  remain  with  us  and  how  uncom- 


122  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

plainingly  he  faced  the  inevitable  end,  his  rugged 
heart  mellowing  and  ripening  into  sweeter  and 
more  resigned  humility  before  being  plucked  from 
its  stem  by  the  Master's  loving  hand  ! 

Spring  had  not  yet  yielded  itself  to  summer — 
for  it  was  only  the  latter  part  of  May  when  the 
fields  and  the  woods  were  gay  with  flowers — when 
what  he  stubbornly  maintained  was  only  a  slight 
weakness  passed  into  the  serious  illness  that  in  a 
few  days  ended  his  labors  on  earth.  But  such 
was  his  unyielding  will  that  on  the  Sabbath  before 
his  death  he  was  at  meeting,  and  the  following 
evening  there  were  good  hopes  for  his  recovery. 

About  an  hour  before  midnight — Sonnlein  hav- 
ing gone  to  sleep  soon  after  dark — I  bethought 
me  to  go  to  our  brother's  Kammer  and  give  him 
such  comfort  as  he  might  need.  I  found  him 
alone  in  his  little  cell  sitting  feebly  on  his  wooden 
bench,  so  that  I  could  see  he  was  suffering  great 
weakness.  At  first  he  resisted  my  gentle  persua- 
sions to  lie  down  and  rest,  but  finally  consented 
thereto,  even,  after  much  coaxing,  letting  me 
spread  my  robe  under  him  and  rest  his  head  on 
it ;  for  he  was  so  thin  I  could  not  bear  to  see 
his  poor  frame  with  nothing  between  it  and  the 
hard  boards. 

I  rejoiced  to  see  him  drop  off  into  a  deep  sleep 
that  I  fondly  hoped  would  last  until  the  morning ; 
but  there  was  a  something  about  his  sleep  so  un- 


BROTHER    AGONIUS    AND    HIS    PROPHECY        1 23 

naturally  deep  and  profound  I  feared  it  might  be 
the  forerunner  of  his  speedy  dissolution. 

It  was  close  now  to  the  midnight  hour  and  soon 
there  rang  out  from  the  darkness  the  clear  notes 
of  our  bell  calling  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  to  their 
wonted  devotions.  Scarcely  had  the  first  stroke 
died  away  when  I  was  startled  almost  out  of  my 
wits  to  see  Brother  Agonius  sit  up  straight  on  his 
bench,  looking  ahead  with  a  fixed,  steady  stare. 

"What  seest  thou,  brother?"  I  asked  softly  and 
I  know  my  voice  trembled,  for  I  understood  not  his 
strange  gazing. 

But  he  heeded  me  not  in  the  least  only  that  he 
appeared  to  be  muttering  to  himself.  Then  his 
voice,  becoming  more  firm,  he  said,  still  as  though 
to  himself,  "  Ye  foolish  Eckerlings ;  flee  ye  from 
the  wrath  to  come  !  " 

"What  meanest  thou?"  I  asked  wonderingly; 
but  still  he  heeded  not,  only  muttering  as  before 
something  about  the  Eckerlings  of  which  now  and 
then  I  would  catch  some  few  words,  which  seemed 
to  me  like,  "O  ye  Eckerlings;  ye  poor  Eckerlings; 
driven  away — alone — captured  —  tortured  —  sepa- 
rated—  persecuted  —  homeless";  and  then  my 
brother  sighed  as  though  a  world  of  woe  op- 
pressed him  and  murmured,  "  Repent  ye ;  repent 
ye "  ;  all  this  time  my  flesh  creeping  with  dread 
as  the  low  tone  of  the  dying  man  uttered  this 
marvelous  prophecy ;  for  such,  in  truth,  it  was. 


124  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Finally  he  lay  down  again,  but  still  muttering 
and  mumbling,  only  lower  than  before.  Once  he 
mentioned  my  name  and  it  seemed  to  me  he  said 
pityingly,  "  Poor  Brother  Jabez,"  and  then  after  a 
long  pause,  "  Poor  Sister  Bernice,"  and  then  after 
a  still  longer  pause,  during  which  I  waited  anx- 
iously for  what  might  follow  he  said  more  clearly, 
"  The  fight  will  not  be  long ;  comfort  thou  him, 
Lord  " ;  so  that  I  could  not  keep  out  a  great  fear 
for  that  he  should  couple  my  name  with  my  dear 
sister's  so  strangely;  for  I  had  oft  heard  that 
dying  ones  see  not  only  the  past  but  even  the 
future  with  great  clearness,  and  I  could  not  help 
the  dread  that  held  my  heart  as  though  with  a 
hand  of  ice. 

When  the  Brethren  dropped  in  after  their  devo- 
tions our  brother  was  again  suffering  such  agony 
that  he  declared — being  in  his  senses  again — his 
sacrifice  on  the  cross  was  now  complete,  where- 
fore he  did  not  know  whether  any  saint  had  ever 
suffered  such  martyrdom,  and  while  the  Brethren 
were  singing  at  his  request  the  hymn,  "  The  time 
is  not  yet  come,"  he  asked  that  they  intercede  with 
God  that  he  might  open  to  him  his  prison  door. 

As  his  end  drew  near  he  asked  that  certain 
psalms  and  parts  of  Tauler's  "  Last  Hours "  be 
repeatedly  read  to  him,  after  which  he  asked  to 
be  anointed  in  the  manner  of  the  first  Christians. 
This    was    done,    Brother    Beissel    applying    the 


BROTHER  AGONIUS  AND  HIS  PROPHECY   1 25 

chrism.  On  the  Wednesday  following,  Brother 
Agonius  kept  looking  keenly  toward  the  hour- 
glass, for  it  had  been  revealed  to  him  that  his  end 
was  to  come  at  the  ninth  hour  of  that  day.  And 
so  when  the  ninth  hour  came  he  sat  up  straight 
on  his  wooden  bench,  but  immediately  fell  over 
scarce  breathing;  but  he  revived  again  and  asked 
feebly  whether  he  had  not  died.  With  the  end  of 
the  ninth  hour  he  passed  away  with  the  senseless 
sands  of  the  hour-glass. 

The  next  day  his  mortal  remains  were  placed  in 
a  neat  coffin  where  the  Brethren  and  Sisters  and 
the  settlers  of  all  denominations  for  miles  around 
could  gaze  once  more  upon  the  face  and  form  of 
this  unconquerable  Christian  soldier  and  martyr 
and  pay  their  last  respects  to  the  memory  of  our 
eloquent  exhorter.  I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  that  made  his  burial  so 
solemn  and  memorable.  As  his  body  was  low- 
ered into  its  resting-place  in  the  meadow  a  little 
to  the  east  of  Brother  Beissel's  cabin,  a  special 
funeral  hymn  was  sung  by  the  Sabbatarians,  com- 
posed for  the  occasion  by  his  lifelong  friend,  our 
superintendent. 

After  the  singing  of  the  hymn  the  Brotherhood 
of  Zion,  being  nearest  about  the  grave,  closed  with 
its  mystic  rites  the  funeral  ceremonies,  the  Sisters 
in  a  tearful  group  standing  beyond  us,  and  all 
being  surrounded   by  the  sincere  friends  of  our 


126  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

departed  brother,  and  the  curious  ones  who  ever 
attend  such  sad  occasions. 

A  modest  tombstone  marks  his  sleeping-place, 
bearing  the  following  German  inscription  by 
Brother  Beissel,  which  I  translate  freely  thus  : 

HERE    REPOSES    THE    GODLY    WARRIOR 

AGONIUS 

DIED    ANNO    1 74 1. 

Aged  54.  years,  4.  months,  28  days. 

Victory  brings  the  crown 
In  the  fight  for  faith,  grace,  and  renown. 
Thus  blessings  crown  the  warrior  true 
Who  bravely  sin  and  Belial  slew. 
Peacefully  he  passed  to  his  chamber  of  rest 
Where  now  he  is  free  of  all  pain  and  distress. 


CHAPTER  XII 


SISTER    BERNICE    IS    COMFORTED 

Girls  and  gold  are  the  softer  the  purer  they  are. 

— Jean  Paul  Richter. 

HE  beautiful   flowers  that 
grew  down  in  the  mead- 
ow  where   we   laid    our 
Brother  Agonius   in   his 
chamber  of  rest,  like  him 
were    soon    gathered   up 
into  the  arms  of  the  Mas- 
ter Reaper.  The  enchant- 
ments of  the  long,  hot, 
summer  days  had  worked 
silently  but  surely  the  entrancing  spells  that  now 
spread  over  field  and  forest  the  glowing  vestments 
of  the  early  fall. 

But  one  day  as  I  was  resting  at  the  foot  of  the 
venerable  oak  where  Brother  Martin  had  been  has- 
tened to  his  death  by  that  strange  woman  not 
many  years  before,  suddenly  I  heard  a  piercing 
shriek  from  the  thick  woods  back  of  me  and  a 
wild,  terrified  rush  toward  the  little  clearing  where 
I   was    standing   erect,    fairly   astounded.      In   a 

127 


128  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

moment  more  Sister  Bernice  fell  almost  headlong 
at  my  feet,  whence  I  lifted  her  unconscious  with 
fright  and  terror  into  my  arms. 

Hardly  knowing  what  to  do  I  stood  there  help- 
lessly gazing  at  her  sweet  face  and  then  at  the 
crown  of  hair  that  lay  like  a  golden  fleece  over  my 
arm,  her  hood  having  fallen  to  the  ground,  so  that 
I  was  thankful  some  remnant  of  womanly  vanity 
had  saved  her  from  the  hideous  tonsure.  But  I 
bethought  myself  to  lay  her  gently  on  the  ground, 
her  head,  a  dear  burden,  in  my  lap,  fanning  her 
face  as  best  I  might  with  my  large,  toil-stained 
hands.  At  last  the  fluttering  eyelids  and  the 
gasping  breath  told  me  of  returning  consciousness. 
At  first  she  opened  her  eyes  and  gazed  at  me 
wonderingly,  vaguely,  and  once  she  closed  them  as 
if  to  shut  out  some  awful  sight.  I  rubbed  her 
hands,  her  wrists,  softly  smoothed  her  brow,  and 
spake  to  her  gently,  "  'Tis  naught  but  Brother 
Jabez ;  thou  needst  not  fear  him.  What  hath  he 
done  ? "  and  by  such  soft  entreaties  and  with 
tender  pressures  of  the  hands  I  sought  to  soothe 
her  to  herself  again. 

Finally,  she  sat  up  weakly,  but  leaning  so  sweetly 
and  helplessly  against  me — it  being  necessary  to 
hold  her  safe  with  mine  arms  for  great  fear  she 
might  faint  again — that  I  longed  to  sit  there  for- 
ever. She,  however,  after  a  while  freed  herself 
somewhat  from  my  too  careful  protection  and  said 


In  a  moment  more  Sister  Rernice 

fell  almost  headlong  at  my  feet.'1 

Page  128. 


SISTER    BERNICE    IS    COMFORTED  1 29 

shudderingly,  "  O  Brother  —  Jabez — such  an 
awful  witch  !  "  and  after  a  pause  for  breath,  "  She 
came  upon  me  while  I  was  gathering  firewood  for 
our  Saal.  I  saw  her  in  the  thicket  close  beside  me — 
so  close  I  could  almost  touch  her — and  she  glared 
at  me  with  such  a  frightful  look  of  hate !  "  and 
my  poor  sister  covered  her  face  with  her  hands 
and  trembled  so  I  thought  she  needs  must  faint 
again.  "  I  could  see  her  ugly  teeth  like  the  fangs 
of  some  wild  beast,  as  though  she  would  tear  me  to 
pieces.  O  Brother  Jabez,  dear  brother,  believest 
thou  in  witches,  believest  thou  in  the  evil  eye  ? 
I — I  am  so  frightened,"  and  indeed,  she  was  still 
weak  as  a  child,  so  that  I  drew  her  again  to  the 
shelter  of  my  side,  resting  her  head  'gainst  my 
heart,  and  soothing  her  by  gentle  pattings  and 
strokings  of  that  wonderful  hair,  just  as  I  had 
often  solaced  Sonnlein  in  his  childish  griefs  and 
troubles. 

"  Nay,  my  dear  sister,  my — Bernice,  I  never 
had  much  faith  in  such  wild  tales,"  said  I,  as  she 
lifted  those  clear,  trusting  eyes  to  mine.  And  may 
I  be  forgiven  for  this  unblushing,  unscrupulous 
lie  ;  for  did  I  not  know  of  the  witch  of  Endor  ? 
Many  a  tale  had  I  heard  in  the  Vaterland  of  the 
malign  influences  of  the  evil  eye,  so  that  now  I 
felt  a  vague  dread  I  dared  not  make  known  to  my 
poor  little  sister,  who  had  flown  to  my  arms  as  a 
birdling  to  its  nest. 


130  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"  Think  not  of  her  more,  my  sister  ;  she  cannot 
harm  thee  now,  dear  Bernice."  Upon  which 
boastful  assurance  she  smiled  confidently  enough 
and  said  with  a  look  I  would  not  have  changed  for 
a  kingdom,  "  That  I  know  quite  well,  thou  great 
giant  ;  wast  thou  ever  afraid,  Brother  Jabez  ?  " 

"  Never,"  I  responded  valiantly,  recklessly  add- 
ing another  lie  to  the  record  I  this  day  seemed 
bound  to  cover  with  falsehoods. 

"  Oh,  that  I  could  be  so  brave,  Brother  Jabez ; 
but  I  have  ever  been  weak,  such  a  coward ;  the 
Vaterchen  and  the  Mutterchen  always  shielded 
me  as  though  I  were  in  all  truth  a  baby."  Here 
she  paused  as  if  to  catch  her  breath,  and  then 
slowly  again  as  with  difficulty  she  said  quietly,  "  I 
have  been  growing  so  weak  lately,  I  wonder  what 
ails  me  ?  " 

And  now  my  selfish  joy,  after  all  these  gloomy 
months  without  sight  of  her,  gave  way  to  a  pain 
that  shot  through  me  like  an  arrow  as  I  saw  how 
much  more  delicate  and  ethereal  she  had  become 
since  that  blissful  love  feast.  For  a  moment  my 
soul  was  in  hot  rebellion  at  all  the  hardships  and 
privations  that  made  our  Kloster  life  almost  un- 
bearable to  the  strongest  and  which  were  so  heavy 
on  the  frail  shoulders  of  this  sweet  angel  at  my 
side.  Something  of  my  wicked  wrath  must  have 
expressed  itself  against  my  will,  for  she  suddenly 
looked  up  at  me  alarmed,  crying  out,  "  What  is 


SISTER    BERNICE    IS    COMFORTED  131 

wrong,  Brother  Jabez  ?  Thou  hast  such  a  hard, 
angry  look  in  thy  eyes,  such  as  I  have  never  seen 
there  before." 

"  I  am  not  in  anger,  Sister  Bernice  "  replied  I, 
softening  my  evil  looks  to  fit  my  words,  "  merely 
thinking  hard — exceeding  hard." 

"  And  dost  thou  look  so  stern  and  fierce  and 
frown  so,  when  thou  art  lost  in  great  thoughts  ?  " 
she  asked  looking  up  so  innocently  I  felt  myself 
an  unregenerate  and  abandoned  soul  for  such 
shameless  lying.  "  If  thou  dost,"  she  went  on 
slowly,  "  I  shall  be  afraid  of  thee." 

"  Yea,  sister,"  I  lied  again  unhesitatingly, 
"  thou  hast  yet  to  learn  that  like  many  other  silly 
men  and  women  I  save  my  smiles  and  cheerful- 
ness for  those  whom  I  know  the  least  and  am 
sternest  and  coldest  to  those  that  know  me  and 
love  me  best." 

"That  I  know  to  be  false,"  she  cried  out,  smil- 
ing up  at  me  brightly,  in  such  a  way  I  thought  I 
never  could  let  her  go  ;  "  thou  art  not  a  hypocrite. 
Who  in  all  our  Kloster  does  not  know  and  love 
our  big  brother,  Brother  Jabez,  for  his  kindness, 
his  patience,  his  tenderness,  his  charity,  for  every 
one,  good  or  bad,  and  most  of  all  for  that  mischiev- 
ous Sonnlein  ? " 

All  this  sweet-sounding  anthem  to  my  unmerited 
exaltation  made  me  so  sinfully  happy  and  irrelig- 
iously proud  I  fairly  forgot  myself  in  my  foolish 


132  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

joy,  so  that  I  pressed  the  gently  resisting  girl — 
for  a  mere  girl  she  was — to  my  breast,  and  was 
about  to  insult  her  trust  and  purity  by  an  unhal- 
lowed kiss,  and  doubt  not  I  had  done  this  great 
wickedness,  had  I  not  seen  too  near  for  me  to 
venture  on  such  indulgence,  the  form  of  some 
Sister  straying  our  way. 

I  hurriedly  urged  Sister  Bernice — who  not 
seeing  the  approaching  Sister,  marveled  much  at 
my  sudden  coldness  and  failure  to  complete  the 
sweet  enterprise  on  which  I  had  embarked  :  "  Go 
thy  way,  my  best  beloved  sister ;  think  no  more  of 
witches ;  I  shall  not  let  them  harm  thee."  And 
with  that  she  smiled  more  heavenly  than  before, 
but  obeyed  my  will  and  betook  herself  to  her 
Kammer,  while  I  passing  on  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion, went  straight  for  that  accursed  spot  where 
Brother  Martin  had  been  the  first  ill-fated  one  to 
see  that  grisly  shape. 

But  though  I  searched  most  diligently,  scruti- 
nizing the  vines,  the  brush,  the  ground,  I  saw  no 
sign  of  her,  and  I  was  making  my  way  back,  sorely 
puzzled,  to  the  oak,  when  suddenly  I  heard  a  quick 
rustling  among  the  leaves,  such  as  a  bird  might 
make,  and  turning  sharply,  beheld,  not  more  than 
a  child's  throw,  in  the  gloomy  shades  of  that  thick, 
dark  forest,  the  bent,  crouching  form  of  that 
hideous  hag,  a  wild-eyed,  savage-featured  she-fiend  ! 

The  memory  of  poor  Brother  Martin,  the  terror 


SISTER    BERN1CE    IS    COMFORTED  1 33 

of  my  harmless,  innocent  Bernice,  moved  me  to 
such  anger  as  never  before  or  since  overcame  my 
patience  and  moderation. 

"  Thou  witch,  or  devil,  whatever  thou  art,"  I 
yelled  at  her  in  my  passion  as  I  pulled  out  of  the 
ground  a  stone  as  large  as  my  clenched  fists,  "  it 
is  in  mine  temper  to  crush  thee  where  thou  stand- 
est,  polluting  these  holy  grounds,  thou  pestilence  !  " 

With  that  she  rushed  forward  fiercely  for  a  few 
steps  as  though  with  clawlike  hands  and  fanglike 
teeth  she  would  rend  me  to  pieces  ;  but  now  that 
my  blood  was  on  fire,  I  quailed  not,  whereat  she 
suddenly  stopped,  the  more  especially  as  my  hand 
was  drawn  back  ready  to  hurl  the  stone  should  she 
come  any  nigher. 

As  she  stood  there  glowering  and  glaring  at  me, 
snarling  and  choking  for  the  world  like  some  angry 
beast,  I  marveled  not  that  the  others  had  been 
terror-stricken  at  such  a  forbidding  shape.  Again 
I  commanded,  drawing  up  my  figure  to  its  full 
height,  "  Begone  thou  vile  beast  ere  I  forget  myself 
and  slay  thee  as  I  would  a  snake  !  "  and  with  that 
I  advanced  on  her,  my  face  distorted  with  such 
anger — for  the  passions  are  ever  destroyers  of 
comeliness — I  doubt  not  she  knew,  if,  indeed  she 
had  a  mind  for  knowing,  that  I  meant  my  threats. 

I  was  but  a  few  paces  from  her,  when  she  made 
a  spiteful  sweep  at  my  face  with  one  of  her  talons 
that  would    have  sadly  marred    me  had    I   been 


134  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

reached,  and  then,  bent  and  crouching,  she  slunk 
away  sullenly,  still  snarling  and  muttering  inarticu- 
late sounds.  I  stood  there  until  her  evil  shape  was 
swallowed  up  by  the  woods,  and  then  I  first  knew 
I  was  shaking  like  a  leaf  and  that  I  was  as  wet  as 
though  I  had  just  come  out  of  the  Cocalico. 

In  this  frame  I  walked  back  slowly  to  my  Ram- 
mer, so  sick  at  heart  with  forebodings  of  evil  I 
dared  not  think  of,  which  not  all  the  joy  of  having 
had  Bernice  in  my  arms  could  make  me  forget. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  COMET  AND  BROTHER  ALBURTUS 

Night's  curtains  now  are  closing 
Round  half  a  world  reposing 
In  calm  and  holy  trust  ; 
All  seems  one  vast,  still  chamber, 
Where  weary  hearts  remember 
No  more  the  sorrows  of  the  dust. 

— Mathias  Claudius. 


ARDLY  had  Peniel  been 
completed  and  dedi- 
cated, when  there  oc- 
curred an  event  that 
wrought  great  conster- 
nation, not  only  in  our 
little  community  but 
among  all  the  settlers 
in  the  province.  This 
was  nothing  less  than 
a  comet.  Many  firmly 
believed  this  celestial  visitant  to  be  the  precursor 
of  war  and  its  kindred  evils,  famine  and  pestilence; 
for  full  many  of  our  German  settlers  had  still  fresh 
in  their  minds  the  fiery  comet  that  had  appeared 
in  the  sky  of  the  Vaterland  immediately  before  the 

i35 


I36  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Thirty  Years'  War,  when  the  Paiatinate  was  dev* 
astated  from  end  to  end  and  almost  depopulated. 
Thus  it  was  feared  this  fiery,  flaming  star  foretold 
similar  bloodshed  and  disaster  in  this  hitherto 
peaceful  New  World.  Many  of  our  Brotherhood 
thought  the  flaming  tail  was  a  bundle  of  switches, 
with  which  the  Almighty  was  about  to  punish  the 
unrepentant  and  unregenerate. 

To  our  brother  hermits  of  the  Wissahickon  the 
comet  was  looked  upon  as  a  harbinger  of  the  ce- 
lestial Bridegroom,  for  whose  coming  they  had  so 
long  devoutly  waited. 

I  remember  well  the  night  this  wonderful  star 
appeared.  It  was  early  in  the  year  1742.  The 
Kloster  bell  with  its  sweet  tones  was  calling  the 
Brotherhood  of  Zion  to  their  midnight  devotions. 
I  still  see  our  long  slender  line  in  cloaks  and  cowls 
file  out  of  the  narrow  corridors,  and  silently  and 
reverently  take  up  our  march  toward  the  Hall  of 
Prayer  on  Mount  Sinai.  There  was  no  moon,  but 
through  the  clear,  frosty  air  was  spread  the  light 
of  a  multitude  of  stars  that  twinkled  brightly  over 
head.  Not  a  twig  stirred  on  the  leafless  trees. 
Everything  was  quiet,  Kedar  and  Zion  looming 
up  distinctly  on  the  hillside,  and  the  sharp  roof 
of  Peniel,  down  in  the  meadow,  seemed  wrapt  in 
deep  slumber. 

As  the  notes  of  the  bells  died  away  there  was 
absolute  stillness,  save  for  the  creaking  and  crunch- 


THE  COMET  AND  BROTHER  ALBURTUS    1 37 

ing  of  our  wooden  shoes  on  the  frozen  ground. 
We  had  passed  over  half  the  distance  to  the  prayer 
house,  when  suddenly  we  saw  in  the  eastern  heav- 
ens a  blazing  star,  with  its  bright,  fiery  tail  flashing 
upon  the  face  of  the  sky.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
awe  that  took  possession  of  us  so  that  we  trembled 
with  fear,  Brother  Obed  who  was  next  to  me,  his 
teeth  chattering  violently,  whispering  hoarsely  it 
was  the  judgment  day  and  Gabriel  would  blow  his 
horn.  I  myself  was  not  without  a  feeling  that 
something  dreadful  was  about  to  happen,  for  it 
was  the  first  comet  I  had  ever  seen,  and  I  knew 
not  what  it  portended.  Still,  I  am  glad  to  say  I 
was  not  so  utterly  bereft  of  my  senses  as  most  of 
my  poor  brethren  seemed  to  be. 

Brother  Alburtus,  however,  was  least  concerned 
of  all,  a  peaceful  smile  lighting  up  his  face  as 
though  the  celestial  Bridegroom  were  coming  on 
some  fiery  chariot  to  take  him  to  heaven;  but 
Brother  Onesimus  fell  on  his  knees  on  the  hard 
ground,  and  prayed  for  mercy  and  that  the  great 
evil  and  calamities  foreshadowed  by  the  fiery  mes- 
senger in  the  heavens  might  be  turned  aside  and 
that  the  Almighty  would  hear  our  prayers. 

And  then  I  felt  moved  to  quote  the  sublime 
words  of  Job : 

Is  not  God  in  the  height  of  heavens  ? 
And  behold  the  height  of  the  stars, 
How  high  they  are. 


138  A   TALE   OF   THE   KLOSTER 

After  the  first  shock  of  this  sudden  apparition 
was  somewhat  abated,  Brother  Beissel  ordered 
the  bells  rung  throughout  the  community,  and 
deputed  me  to  order  all  out  for  religious  services 
in  Peniel,  where  we  prayed  and  sang  until  the 
dawn,  some  of  us  fondly  hoping  as  the  daylight 
appeared  and  the  glare  of  the  comet  died  away 
our  prayers  had  been  answered,  only  to  find  the 
direful  visitant  in  the  sky  on  the  following  night 
and  many  nights  thereafter. 

Brother  Obed  held  that  the  comet  augured  the 
end  of  the  world  and  Brother  Philemon  agreed 
thereto ;  for  he  recollected,  which  we  all  remem- 
bered now,  that  Brother  Agonius  some  weeks  be- 
fore his  death,  had  earnestly  prophesied  the  long- 
looked-for  millennium  was  at  hand. 

Special  prayers  as  provided  for  in  our  ritual  were 
said,  and  certain  Brothers,  detailed  for  that  office, 
read  these  prayers  at  the  services  of  the  Sister- 
hood and  the  congregations  of  the  households  at 
Peniel.  This  liturgy  consisted  of  the  reading  of 
the  fourth  Psalm,  closing  with  a  special  invocation, 
these  being  changed  each  day  according  to  the  se- 
cret ritual  of  the  Zionites.  The  sign  for  Sunday 
being  the  Lion  ;  the  corresponding  angel  Raphael, 
and  the  planet  Chamma,  the  Sun.  For  Monday  the 
sign  was  the  Crab,  the  angel  Gabriel;  and  the 
planet  Lewanna,  the  Moon,  and  so  on,  a  different 
sign   and   angel  and  planet  for  each  day  of  the 


THE  COMET  AND  BROTHER  ALBURTUS    1 39 

week,  the  sign  for  the  Sabbath  being  the  Water- 
man and  the  Goat,  the  angel  Chephziel ;  the 
planet  Sabbathai,  or  Saturn. 

Brother  Jephune,  who  was  skilled  in  astronomy 
and  astrology,  informed  us  the  comet  was  near  the 
equinoxes  of  the  heavens  the  first  night  and  in  the 
tail  of  the  Eagle  the  following  night.  For  a  few 
nights  the  heavens  were  so  hidden  by  heavy  clouds 
and  fogs  we  did  not  see  the  comet  again  until  the 
following  Saturday,  when  the  star  stood  near  Lyra, 
having  taken  a  northward  course ;  by  the  next 
night  the  comet  had  flown  to  the  tip  of  the  Swan's 
wing,  and  so  rapid  was  the  wanderer's  flight  it 
traveled  five  degrees  north  within  twenty-four 
hours.  The  next  night  the  comet  entered  the 
head  of  the  Dragon,  after  which  the  awesome  vis- 
itor vanished  again  into  space,  many  of  the  Breth- 
ren stoutly  maintaining  it  had  been  swallowed  up 
by  the  Dragon. 

But  the  long-looked-for  millennium  did  not  come 
either  with  the  comet  or  its  vanishing,  but  happily, 
on  the  other  hand,  neither  did  those  dire  disasters 
and  calamities  fall  upon  us  which  many  had  pre- 
dicted ;  and  though  it  was  a  long  time  before  we 
outlived  the  fear  inspired  by  this  erratic  body,  if 
another  had  come  shortly  after  there  is  little  doubt 
in  my  mind  our  terror  would  not  have  been  quite 
so  great,  for  this  is  the  nature  of  man. 

Nevertheless,   the  star  made  a  wonderful  and 


I4O  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

more  or  less  lasting  impression  upon  all  of  our 
community,  and  from  this  time  a  number  of  our 
hymns  date,  which  afterward  were  incorporated  in 
the  collection  named  by  our  superintendent,  "Par- 
adisches  Wunderspiel"  (Paradise  Wonder  Music). 
These  hymns  were  full  of  prophetic  insight  and 
represented  the  mysteries  of  the  last  days  so 
clearly  it  seemed  to  many  of  us  as  though  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  were  already  at  hand. 

But  what  troubled  me  far  more  than  this  flaming 
star  was  that  which  occurred  the  very  next  day 
after  the  comet  disappeared.  A  few  years  after 
Sonnlein  and  I  came  to  Ephrata,  there  joined  the 
Solitary  one  whom  I  have  already  mentioned  as 
Brother  Alburtus,  that  being  his  Kloster  name. 
What  his  real  name  was  no  one  in  our  community 
seemed  to  know.  And  lest  it  be  thought  strange 
that  we  knew  not  who  he  was,  it  behooveth  me  to 
enlighten  the  reader  by  explaining  that  at  Ephrata 
we  seldom,  if  ever,  demanded  of  man  or  woman 
desiring  to  join  us,  other  than  whether  they  had 
renounced  the  world  and  were  willing  to  serve  God 
in  the  simple  manner  we  had  agreed  upon  as  being 
the  best  for  our  Master's  cause. 

And  thus  it  came  about  that  in  our  tolerant 
little  republic  all  were  welcome,  no  matter  what 
their  previous  faith,  Protestant  or  Catholic,  or 
what  their  condition,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor. 
Nor  did  we  inquire  overmuch  into  the  past  life  of 


THE  COMET  AND  BROTHER  ALBURTUS    I4I 

any  who  desired  to  join  us  ;  for  what  concerned 
us  more  than  the  past  was  the  manner  of  life  our 
brethren  and  sisters  lead  after  joining  us,  and  in 
this  were  we  exceedingly  strict. 

But  our  Brother  Alburtus  was  always  a  puzzle  to 
me  as,  indeed,  he  was  a  great  mystery  to  the  rest 
of  the  Brotherhood  and  Sisterhood,  though  we  all 
were  regarded  as  peculiar  by  outsiders.  He  was 
very  tall,  even  taller  than  I,  and  broad-shouldered, 
so  that  even  with  his  habit  of  walking  humbly,  with 
bowed  form,  he  yet  towered  a  veritable  giant  above 
all  the  rest  of  the  Brotherhood.  A  pronounced 
roll  in  his  gait,  such  as  men  receive  who  have 
served  long  on  the  sea,  inclined  many  of  us  to 
believe  such  had  been  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  and  there  were  rumors  current  in  the  neigh- 
borhood that  our  Brother  Alburtus  had  been  cap- 
tain of  a  vessel ;  while  still  others — especially  the 
busybodies,  who  always  imagine  evil  of  others — 
gravely  asserted  he  had  been  a  pirate  and  had 
sought  refuge  among  us  from  those  who  sought 
his  capture ;  but  the  only  thing  I  ever  saw  as  sup- 
porting the  charge  of  piracy  was  a  long,  livid  scar 
across  our  brother's  brow,  giving  his  otherwise 
gentle  and  benign  countenance  a  rather  forbidding 
aspect.  Whether  or  not  he  had  been  a  rover  of 
the  seas  I  never  learned ;  from  his  face  I  could 
not  believe  he  had  been  a  bloodthirsty  pirate, 
though  I  know  full  well  that  oft  beneath  the  form 


142  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

and  features  of  a  saint  dwell  the  thoughts  and  pas- 
sions of  the  Evil  One ;  for  the  Scriptures  say  the 
human  heart  is  a  deceitful  thing. 

But  this  I  do  know,  and  in  later  years  it  was  a 
great  comfort  to  me,  that  in  all  the  twenty  or  more 
years  our  brother  was  with  us  he  lived  a  life  of 
such  saintly  peace  and  gentleness  as  put  to  shame 
many  a  Brother  who  professed  more  but  acted  not 
so  well.  Whatever  his  past  life,  I  felt  sure  with 
us  he  lived  a  true  Christian  ;  for  a  man  cannot 
well  live  a  hypocrite  long  with  his  fellow-men  and 
not  be  found  out. 

Yet  he  had  two  great  peculiarities  we  often 
marveled  at  and  of  which  one  was,  that  no  matter 
where  or  when  one  saw  him,  he  would  ever  be 
clasping  and  rubbing  his  hands  together.  Day 
after  day,  month  after  month,  year  after  year,  all 
the  time  I  knew  him,  I  believe  I  never  saw  him 
but  that  he  was  clasping  and  rubbing  those  hands 
and  looking  at  them  in  a  strange,  abstracted  sort 
of  way,  and  even  when  the  Brotherhood  were  at 
their  meals,  if  he  was  not  attending  to  the  needs 
of  the  inner  man,  he  would  be  still  rubbing  and 
clasping  those  hands,  which  looked  white  and 
peaceful  enough  to  me,  so  far  as  I  could  see ;  but 
the  suspicious  ones — and  they  are  ever  a  plenty — 
in  our  community  and  in  the  country  round  about 
were  firm  in  the  belief  that  those  hands  had  been 
stained  with  the  blood  of  men  and  even  fair  women 


THE  COMET  AND  BROTHER  ALBURTUS    I43 

and  dear  little  children,  and  for  whose  deaths  he 
was  doomed  for  the  rest  of  his  life  to  imagine  he 
saw  the  blood  there  which  he  must  ever  be  trying 
to  rub  off. 

Mine  own  opinion  was  that  our  Brother  Albur- 
tus,  who  was  one  of  those  absent-minded  ones  who 
never  know  what  they  are  doing,  had  simply  fallen 
into  this  habit,  which,  as  is  the  nature  of  habits, 
became  a  very  part  of  him. 

His  other  peculiarity  was  that  often  without 
leaving  word  with  any  of  us  he  would  wander  off, 
or  as  I  have  often  thought,  lose  himself  in  the 
woods,  sometimes  being  absent  weeks  at  a  time ; 
but  as  he  always  returned  safely,  albeit  his  body 
and  his  cloak  a  trifle  the  worse  for  his  ramblings, 
we  never  attempted  to  restrain  his  freedom.  He 
and  Sonnlein  seemed  to  have  great  regard  for  each 
other  and  this  too  made  me  love  our  harmless 
brother,  and  often  I  saw  the  two,  Sonnlein  leading 
the  way,  tramp  off  to  the  woods  on  some  wonder- 
ful trip  of  discovery. 

As  I  have  said,  this  matter  which  I  wish  to  re- 
late came  upon  us  the  day  after  the  comet  left.  I 
was  walking  in  the  Brother  woods  not  far  from 
the  old  oak  that  had  witnessed  more  than  once  the 
manifestations  of  the  old  witch.  It  was  a  cold,  raw 
day  so  that  I  felt  it  needful  to  have  my  cowl  over 
my  head  and  I  was  greatly  surprised  and  yet  not 
entirely  so — for  he  always  walked  about  as  if  he 


144  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

regarded  not  the  weather — when  Brother  Alburtus 
meandering  bareheaded  in  the  woods  walked  past 
me,  clasping  and  rubbing  his  hands  as  ever,  look- 
ing abstractedly  at  them  and  I  felt  sure  never 
seeing  me  though  his  cloak  almost  brushed  mine. 

He  had  gone  but  a  few  steps  beyond  me  when 
suddenly  from  out  of  a  thicket  there  flew  at  him 
what  for  the  instant  I  could  not  tell  whether  it 
was  wild  beast  or  human  being ;  but  as  something 
bright  flashed  in  the  air  like  a  knife  or  dagger  I 
saw  it  was  that  horrible  old  hag,  who  in  another 
moment  would  have  surely  killed  our  brother, 
standing  there  simple  and  helpless,  had  I  not  de- 
spite all  the  scratching  and  clawing,  torn  the  vile 
form  from  him  and  hurled  her  crashing  to  the 
earth  so  that  she  rolled  for  a  few  yards  from  me. 

I  was  too  much  startled  and  in  such  passionate 
anger  at  this  assault  upon  our  gentle,  unoffending 
brother  to  say  aught  as  the  foul  shape  lay  writhing 
and  twisting  but  a  second  or  two  where  I  had 
hurled  her.  Then  as  she  arose  slowly  from  the 
ground  as  in  pain — though  I  had  heard  one  could 
not  hurt  a  witch — and  hobbled  off  into  the  forest 
I  bawled  after  her:  "Again  have  I  let  thee  go, 
but  'tis  the  last.  The  next  time  thou  dost  assail 
any  of  us  I  shall  surely  kill  thee";  for  I  was  so 
beside  myself  with  cruel,  wicked  rage  I  knew 
not  what  murderous  threats  were  coming  from  my 
unbridled  tongue. 


THE  COMET  AND  BROTHER  ALBURTUS    1 45 

And  then  I  turned  to  Brother  Alburtus  and 
was  surprised  to  see  him  standing  there  looking 
vacantly  into  space  as  if  naught  had  happened,  not 
even  asking  me  what  it  was  that  had  so  violently 
attacked  him,  so  that  I  wondered  whether  he  even 
realized  that  I  had  saved  his  life.  Thus  I  thought 
it  not  worth  while  to  ask  him  why  it  was  this 
strange  woman  had  tried  to  kill  him,  as  with  all 
her  violence  she  had  never  attempted  actual  harm 
to  the  others  of  us  to  whom  she  had  appeared. 

But  what  I  failed  that  day  to  understand  and 
for  many  long  years  was  a  riddle  to  me,  came  out 
clearly  in  the  end. 


CHAPTER    XIV 


OUR    SISTER    LEAVES    US 


O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 

— New  Testament 


ELL  hath  he  of  great 
afflictions  said,  "  Man 
is  born  unto  trouble  as 
the  sparks  fly  upward." 
Thus  I  said  unto  my- 
self the  night  following 
the  fright  of  my  Sister 
Bernice  as  I  sought  in 
vain  for  sleep,  for  I  felt 
the  shadow  of  some 
heavy  sorrow  hanging  over  us.  Not  even  the 
prattle  of  Sonnlein,  or  my  unremitting  daily  toil, 
God's  antidote  for  corroding  care,  could  efface 
from  my  mind  the  wan  features  of  Sister  Bernice, 
the  extreme  delicacy  of  her  fragile  form,  and  the 
shock  she  had  received  from  the  witch. 

And   yet,   for   so    He   hath    ordained,  as    time 
dragged    its    slow  length    away,   my    forebodings 
almost  vanished,  and  the  days  were  beginning  to 
146 


OUR   SISTER    LEAVES    US  1 47 

pass  "  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle,"  so  I  was 
not  without  hope  that,  after  all,  my  fears  had 
been  the  result  of  a  too  tender  solicitude  for  my 
dear  sister. 

Thus  almost  a  year  passed  away  in  which  I  saw 
her  in  fleeting  glimpses,  but  not  to  hold  sweet  con- 
verse with  her  or  once  again  to  feel  the  touch  of  that 
hand  I  longed  to  harbor  in  mine  and  shelter  from 
all  the  storms  of  life.  How  my  poor  human  nature 
struggled  with  me  those  days,  so  that  at  times  I 
thought  I  must  take  her  in  mine  arms  and  with 
Sonnlein  flee  to  some  retreat  where  we  could  pass 
the  rest  of  our  days  in  perfect  love  and  peace ! 

But  "  happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth," 
for  after  all  we  are  not  fit  for  heaven  until  all  the 
dross  hath  been  tormented  out  of  us,  leaving  the 
pure  gold  for  his  kingdom. 

Whether  my  sister  was  enduring  all  these  pangs 
of  unspoken,  forbidden  love  I  knew  not ;  I  only 
knew  that  if  by  chance  our  eyes  met,  which  was 
all  too  seldom,  I  thought  I  could  see  in  their  pure 
depths  a  tender,  beseeching  longing  for  me. 

And  now  the  glory  of  autumn  had  passed  away. 
The  fields  about  the  Kloster  lay  cold  and  bare. 
The  naked  branches  of  the  trees  shivered  in  the 
chilling  airs.  How  bleak  and  cheerless  the  world 
seemed  in  these  early  days  of  winter  before  the 
touch  of  ice  and  snow  had  transformed  the  fields 
and  the  forests  into  fairyland  ! 


I48  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

The  last  day  of  November  was  drawing  to  its 
close.  The  Brethren  had  partaken,  in  solemn 
thankfulness,  of  our  simple  evening  meal  and  I 
had  gone  to  my  Kammer,  first  putting  Sonnlein 
to  rest,  after  having  recounted  to  me  all  the  mar- 
velous happenings  of  the  day,  and  was  about  my- 
self to  lie  down  to  sleep,  when  hearing  a  step  near, 
I  looked  up  and  saw  Brother  Beissel,  even  graver 
and  sadder  than  usual.  "  Brother  Jabez,  Mother 
Maria  hath  come  saying  she  would  see  thee  and 
me."  At  once  a  great  fear  gripped  my  heart — 
something  about  Bernice. 

"  I  am  ready  to  see  her,  brother,"  said  I  quietly, 
rising  to  my  feet.  Just  outside  the  door  of  Zion, 
for  she  would  not  come  in,  stood  our  prioress,  a 
deep  sadness  in  her  usually  hard  and  inscrutable 
features. 

When  she  saw  us,  she  waited  first  for  Brother 
Beissel  to  bid  her  speak,  and  then  she  said  quietly, 
with  tears  in  her  voice,  for  which  I  ever  felt  grate- 
ful to  her  :  "  Sister  Bernice  is  leaving  us  ;  she  is 
dying."  And  then  duty  overcame  grief  and  pity, 
and  looking  up  steadfastly  into  our  faces,  Mother 
Maria  said,  almost  sternly,  I  thought :  "  Our  Sister 
Bernice  doth  entreat  us  that  before  she  die  Brother 
Jabez  may  see  her.  I  told  her  gently  'twas  'gainst 
the  rules  of  our  order  for  Sister  to  be  in  Zion  or 
Brother  in  Kedar." 

We  stood  silent  for  a  few  moments,  and  then, 


OUR   SISTER    LEAVES    US  1 49 

looking  at  me  as  though  he  would  read  my  very 
soul,  Brother  Beissel  said  to  me  softly:  "Art  thou 
and  our  Sister  Bernice  aught  to  each  other?" 

"  But  for  our  vows  the  world  would  know  we 
loved  each  other,"  I  said  humbly,  but  looking  not 
unsteadily  into  those  eyes  that  seemed  to  read 
men's  hearts  like  open  books. 

"  Now  I  know  for  a  surety  that  which  thy  trou- 
bled face  hinted  to  me  of  late,  my  Brother  Jabez. 
I  know  thou  hast  fought  a  hard  fight.  I  command 
thee  go  see  our  sister,  thy  Bernice ;  no  fear  of  idle 
tongue  or  hard  letter  of  the  law  shall  keep  us  from 
the  true  promptings  of  the  spirit."  And  then,  push- 
ing me  gently  along,  he  said  :  "  Go,  haste.  Mother 
Maria,  it  is  my  wish  that  thou  take  our  brother  to 
our  sister ;  be  thou  the  only  one  present." 

And  thus  this  wonderful  man,  who  had  in  him  all 
the  fiery,  unyielding  hatred  of  sin  of  a  Jeremiah, 
and  yet  a  wjoman's  tender  sympathy,  bound  me  to 
him,  though  oft  we  differed  in  opinion,  for  life. 

When  Mother  Maria  and  I  entered  the  narrow 
doorway  leading  from  the  corridor  into  the  cell 
where  Bernice  lay,  the  Sisters  gathered  there  were 
sent  obediently  to  their  cells,  though  the  hearts  of 
each  of  the  gentle  nuns  longed  to  be  present  to 
soften  the  last  moments  of  their  young  sister  who 
for  so  many  years  had  been  a  dear  companion. 
Only  Mother  Maria  and  I  remained  with  Bernice. 
At  first,  in  the  dim  light  of  the  little  paper  lantern, 


I50  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

she  did  not  seem  to  notice  me  as  I  knelt  down 
beside  her,  Mother  Maria  standing  in  the  doorway 
and  so  thoughtfully  filling  it  that  no  one  could  see 
into  this  little  chamber  already  hallowed  by  the 
presence  of  the  angel  of  death. 

As  I  knelt  there  I  took  one  of  my  sister's  dear, 
white,  wasted  hands  into  mine,  and  lifting  into  my 
arm  her  head,  from  which  flowed  the  golden  masses 
of  hair  that  gilded  the  hard,  wooden  pillow,  I  mur- 
mured to  her,  "  Bernice  "  ;  and  as  she  opened  those 
eyes  that  had  ever  the  look  of  heaven  in  them,  I 
breathed  softly  to  her,  "  'Tis  thy  Brother  Jabez ; 
dost  not  know  me?" 

And  then  she  looked  at  me  with  understanding 
in  her  gaze  and  whispered  so  weakly  I  thought  my 
heart  would  burst  with  love  and  grief :  "  I  know 
thee  ;  I  am  so  happy."  And  as  she  said  this,  she 
smiled  so  sweetly  I  held  her  closer  in  my  arms, 
our  souls  meeting  in  our  first  kiss. 

For  many  moments  I  knelt  sheltering  her  dear 
head  in  mine  arms,  each  of  us  unspeakably  happy 
that  now  even,  though  in  the  hour  of  death,  we 
could  say  freely  with  our  lips  that  which  our  hearts 
had  told  each  other  long  ago.  Outside  was  stillness, 
and  so  inside  the  hall.  Mother  Maria  still  kept  her 
watch  in  the  doorway,  grim  and  sad,  as  though  she 
neither  saw  nor  heard  my  sister  and  me. 

"  I  could  not  leave  thee  without  telling  how  I 
loved  thee,"  she  whispered,  lifting  up  the  hand  I 


OUR   SISTER    LEAVES    US  I  5  I 

had  not  imprisoned  in  mine,  and  resting  it  on  my 
shoulder,  where  it  lay  like  a  lily.  "  I  tried  so  hard 
to  forget  thee,  but  since  that  love  feast  —  thou 
knowest  which  one — thou  wast  ever  with  me." 

"That  love  feast  was  paradise,  my  beloved  sister; 
but  thou  must  not  talk  so  much,  I  fear." 

"  Nay,  I  know  my  end  is  near ;  I  am  not  afraid 
now." 

In  a  few  moments  she  whispered  shyly,  "Dost 
remember  the  witch  ?  " 

"Yea,  I  could  have  slain  her  for  frightening 
thee  so." 

"  But  when  thou  didst  take  me  into  thy  great 
arms  and  soothe  and  pity  me  like  some  little  child, 
I  was  almost  glad  I  had  seen  the  witch." 

"  Thou  foolish  girl,  how  canst  care  so  for  such 
a  great,  clumsy,  stupid  brother  like  me?" 

She  lay  a  few  minutes  as  if  she  could  not  whis- 
per more,  and  then,  after  I  thought  she  had  for- 
gotten what  I  had  just  said,  she  whispered,  but 
more  feebly  than  before,  "  Thou'rt  not  clumsy  or 
stupid  ;  thou  art  so  strong  but  so  tender — I  love 
thee  better  than  life."  And  then  she  seemed  so 
exhausted  I  was  obliged  to  lay  her  head  off  my 
breast  to  her  pillow  thinking  she  could  breathe 
more  easily,  but  the  gentle  pressure  of  her  hand 
on  my  shoulder  and  the  nestling  touch  of  the  one 
on  my  own  told  me  she  preferred  it  thus. 

I  know  not  how  long  I  held  her  in  mine  em- 


152  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

brace,  but  she  again  opened  her  eyes  and  whispered, 
pausing  between  each  word,  "Thou  wilt  be  with 
me  in  heaven  ?  " 

"  Yea,  mein  Liebchen,  forever  and  forever,"  I  mur- 
mured holding  her  to  me  still  more  closely,  whereat 
she  smiled  and  whispered,  but  so  low  and  broken 
I  could  hardly  hear  it,  "  I  am  so  happy,"  and  then 
I  felt  a  shudder  pass  through  the  dear  frame  in 
mine  arms ;  her  head  fell  limp  and  lifeless  from 
my  shoulder,  and  I  knew  that  from  within  the  nar- 
row walls  of  the  bare,  cold  cell,  and  out  through 
the  dark  night,  there  was  winging  its  way  to  heaven 
the  soul  of  my  sister,  my  Bernice. 

For  a  long  while  I  knelt  holding  her  in  mine 
arms,  the  tears  raining  down  my  face  as  never 
since  childhood.  Then  I  laid  her  down  on  the 
bench  which  could  no  longer  crucify  the  earthly 
habitation  of  my  Bernice ;  I  kissed  the  dear  face 
for  the  last  time,  and  then  rising,  I  said  as  calmly 
as  I  could  to  Mother  Maria,  "  Our  sister  hath  gone 
to  her  home,"  and  then  I  left  the  "  House  of  Sor- 
row" with  the  light  of  a  great  peace  in  mine  heart, 
for  though  I  knew  that  earth  had  lost  much  of  its 
sweetness,  yet  the  bitterness  of  my  short  sojourn 
here  was  as  naught  compared  with  the  added  bliss 
heaven  now  held  for  me. 

Thus  Sister  Bernice  was  the  first  flower  to  die 
of  the  Roses  of  Saron  and  the  first  of  the  Solitary 
to  be  laid  away  in  the  little  God's  Acre  down  in 


OUR   SISTER    LEAVES    US  1 53 

the  meadow  by  the  roadside.  Mine  own  wish,  had 
it  been  expressed,  would  have  been  that  our  sister 
be  buried  in  the  simplicity  which  marked  her  gen- 
tle life,  but  those  in  authority  thought  it  best  to 
make  her  burial  an  occasion  for  all  the  imposing 
honors  and  ceremonies  of  our  Order. 

At  midnight,  while  earth  and  sky  were  held  in 
intense  darkness — the  chill,  wintry  winds  sighing 
a  mournful  requiem  more  sad  and  mournful  even 
than  the  chanting  by  the  heavy-hearted  Sisters  and 
Brothers,  of  the  dirge  composed  in  loving  memory 
by  Sister  Foeben — six  of  the  Brothers  clad  in  their 
long  cowls  tenderly  and  reverently  carried  the 
body  of  our  dear  Bernice  from  Mount  Sinai  down 
to  the  narrow  little  Kammer  where  all  that  was  of 
earth  of  her  could  rest  in  peace  until  the  call  of 
the  last  day. 

My  heart  was  too  full  to  note  all  this  but  dimly 
and  to  hear  but  faintly  our  footfalls  upon  the  hard 
ground  and  the  solemn  tolling  of  the  convent 
bells,  the  flickering  rushlights  shedding  a  weird, 
ghostly  light  over  the  sad,  thin  line  of  mourners. 

Tenderly  as  a  fond  mother  lays  her  child  to 
sleep  at  evenfall  we  laid  our  sister  to  rest  with 
all  the  symbolic  beauty  of  the  ritual  of  the  Brother- 
hood  of  Zion  and  then  having  performed  our  last 
sacred  offices  for  our  departed  one,  we  filed  slowly 
back  to  our  cells.  The  room  Sister  Bernice  had 
occupied  in  Kedar  was  now  closed  to  remain  so 


154  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

for  some  time,  and  upon  the  walls  of  her  Rammer 
was  hung  a  legend,  or  Segenspruch,  composed  by 
our  Brother  Beissel,  and  lovingly  executed  by  the 
Sisters  in  their  beautiful  Gothic  penwork : 

"  Bemice,  Freue  dich  in  ihrem  gang  unter  der 
Schafweide,  und  sey  frenndlich  u.  huldreich  unter 
den  Liebhabern." 

Which  meaneth  :  "  Bernice,  enjoy  yourself  in 
your  sojourn  among  the  sheep  pastures  and  be 
affable  and  gracious  among  the  suitors." 

Ah  me,  ah  me  ! 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE    GREAT    COMET 


The  Lord  his  signs  makes  to  appear, 

To  call  us  to  repentance  : 

A  monstrous  comet  standeth  there 

That  we  our  sins  shall  flee  from, 

But  we,  alas  !  scarce  give  it  a  thought 

For  each  one  thinks  it  cometh  not, 

The  punishment  and  danger. 

HE  winter  winds  had  swept 
o'er  the  grave  of  our  dear 
sister  not  a  month,  and 
hardly  had  our  little  camp 
on  the  Cocalico  been  re- 
stored to  its  usual  even- 
ness of  temper  after  the 
wordy  warfare  Brother 
Hildebrand  and  I,  under 
the  leadership  of  Broth- 
er Beissel,  had  waged  against  our  ancient  foes, 
the  Moravians  at  Bethlehem — for  they  believed 
not  in  celibacy — when  we  were  again  roused  to 
a  high  pitch  of  excitement  by  that  which  was  no 
less  than  a  second  comet  which ,  following  closely 
upon  the  one  that  flashed  so  suddenly  upon  us  the 

i5S 


I56  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

preceding  February,  left  no  longer  any  doubts 
even  in  the  minds  of  the  most  skeptical  and  unbe- 
lieving, that  we  were  within  the  portent  of  some 
great  crisis. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  Christmas  a  number 
of  the  Brotherhood,  among  them  the  Eckerlings 
and  Brother  Weiser — for  though  he  had  gone 
back  to  the  world  he  oft  revisited  us — our  super- 
intendent and  Sonnlein  and  I,  were  gathered  on 
the  highest  point  of  Mount  Sinai,  nigh  to  the 
Brother  woods.  The  sun  had  hardly  sunk  from 
view  and  the  twilight  begun  to  deepen  over  the 
unbroken  expanse  of  forest  and  upon  the  slopes  of 
the  distant  hills  to  the  west,  when  suddenly  Brother 
Jephune,  our  astronomer,  clutched  Brother  Weiser 
by  the  arm,  and  exclaimed  in  awe-struck  tones, 
"  See,  look,  the  comet !  "  as  he  pointed  all  in  a 
tremble  to  where  the  sun  had  just  disappeared. 

Startled  by  his  voice  and  his  intense  gaze,  we 
turned  sharply.  I  could  see  naught  but  a  single 
small  star,  shining  dimly,  but  I  held  my  peace. 

Brother  Weiser  was  the  first  to  break  the  strain 
in  a  cold,  calm,  judge-like  tone,  "  I  see  naught  but 
a  small  star ;  Brother  Jephune,  thou  seest  ever 
visions." 

"  It  were  better  for  thee,  our  Brother  Enoch, 
didst  thou  see  more  visions  instead  of  having  thine 
eyes  stubbornly  sealed  against  the  mysteries  of 
God,"  quietly  interrupted  Brother  Onesimus. 


THE   GREAT    COMET  I  57 

"  Brother  Jephune,  mine  eyes  are  yet  strong.  I 
see  naught  but  a  star,  nor  do  our  brethren  see 
thy  comet,"  said  our  leader. 

Brother  Jephune  apparently  heard  not  his  critics, 
for  he  still  stood  motionless  and  gazed  most  in- 
tensely upon  what  appeared  to  us  an  innocent  star. 

Suddenly  he  turned  to  us  again  and  whispered, 
"  'Tis  the  very  comet  of  last  winter.  I  told  ye 
the  sun  had  swallowed  it  and  now  the  sun  hath 
spit  out  again  the  fiery  monster,"  and  then  he 
wailed,  "  Woe,  woe,  be  unto  all  the  ungodly  who 
shall  be  destroyed  by  this  fiery  serpent !  " 

Because  I  did  not  always  agree  with  the  many 
foolish  and  unscriptural  speculations  of  the  Ecker- 
lings,  they  oft  accused  me  of  irreverence  and 
lacking  in  spirituality.  Be  that  as  it  may,  and  al- 
though I  knew  many  comets  had  appeared  to  the 
eyes  of  men  since  the  creation  without  any  ap- 
parent change  in  the  rules  and  order  of  the  uni- 
verse, yet  I  felt  the  same  awe  that  enveloped  our 
little  group.  Calling  Sonnlein  to  me  I  said  to  him 
as  we  all  clustered  about  him,  "I  have  taught  thee 
somewhat  of  the  stars ;  thine  are  the  youngest 
eyes  here.  Look  thou  carefully.  Is  that  yonder 
pale  star  such  as  thou  seest  at  night?" 

And  then  with  our  awe  reflected  in  his  childish 
face  he  gazed  steadily  at  the  star,  and  then  turning 
as  in  doubt,  he  said  to  me  as  though  the  others 
were  not  present,  "  'Tis  a  star,  Vaterchen!' 


I58  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"What  knoweth  such  a  child?"  exclaimed  our 
astrologer  peevishly. 

"  Have  patience,  my  good  brother  ;  look  again, 
my  son ;  make  a  funnel  of  thy  hands ;  thou 
knowest  how  I  taught  thee  to,"  I  said  gently  to 
Sonnlein,  who  in  loving  obedience  put  his  hand 
rounded  like  a  spyglass  to  his  eye,  and  again  he 
looked  steadily  at  the  apparition.  Then  my  boy 
turned  again  to  me  and  said  simply,  "  It  is  but  a 
little  star,  Vaterchen,"  and  as  if  it  were  of  no  impor- 
tance he  added,  "  There  is  something  like  smoke 
behind  it." 

"  Smoke !  What  nonsense  is  this  ? "  cried 
Brother  Enoch  in  disgust. 

"Smoke,"  shouted  Brother  Jephune,  "the  child 
seeth  that  which  I  tell  ye  I  see,  ye  blind  scoffers. 
Was  the  smoke  like  a  tail  or  a  bundle  of  switches — 
had  it  shape  ? "  he  cried  eagerly. 

"Like  a  tail,"  said  Sonnlein  timidly. 

"  Oh,  wondrous  sight  of  innocent  childhood," 
murmured  the  astrologer,  "  to  see  what  world- 
blinded  eyes  cannot  see  !  " 

And  indeed  a  comet  it  was,  for  it  rapidly  in- 
creased to  great  size  and  brilliancy,  and  for  two 
months  from  early  evening  until  after  midnight 
flamed  fiercely  across  the  northwestern  sky,  a 
fearful,  awesome  sight,  even  to  the  least  super- 
stitious among  us. 

Brother  Jephune,  and  many  with  him,  accepted 


THE   GREAT    COMET  I  59 

the  star,  since  it  had  appeared  on  the  twenty-fifth 
day  of  the  month,  as  the  one  prophesied  in  the 
Zohar,  which  was  to  hang  in  the  heavens  for  sev- 
enty days,  to  be  seen  of  all  men  as  a  warning,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  there  would  arise  a  great 
tumult  and  confusion  upon  the  earth,  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  universal  peace  of  God's  kingdom. 
The  settlers  in  the  country  round  about  us  relying 
upon  Num.  24  :  17,  18,  fully  believed  this  was  the 
"  Star  out  of  Jacob,"  and  that  a  sceptre  should 
arise  to  smite  the  evil  in  the  earth  ;  that  the  mil- 
lennium was  nigh,  and  Brother  Beissel  taught  with 
his  usual  fiery  zeal  that  when  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  finally  came,  our  Mount  Sinai  would  be 
the  center  of  the  New  Jerusalem  in  this  evening 
land ;  that  the  Brotherhood  of  Zion  would  be 
chosen  as  the  Priests  of  the  Temple,  and  many 
there  were  who  though  hitherto  they  had  har- 
dened their  hearts  against  our  preaching  and  our 
charity,  now  through  fear  and  superstition  has- 
tened to  be  gathered  under  the  protecting  wings 
of  our  community. 

In  this  perturbed  state  we  were  for  over  two 
months,  when  on  an  evening  a  number  of  the  Sol- 
itary Brethren  were  again  gathered  at  almost  the 
same  elevated  spot  on  Mount  Sinai,  hard  by  the 
Brother  woods  that  we  had  occupied  the  evening 
Brother  Jephune  and  Sonnlein  had  been  the  first 
to  see  the  comet. 


l60  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

We  had  been  standing  in  utter  silence  for  a  long 
while,  when  Brother  Gabriel  turned  to  Brother 
Weiser,  and  said  as  though  in  reproof,  "  And  still 
thou  believest  this  strange  vision  in  the  sky  fore- 
telleth  naught?" 

"  It  speaketh  to  me  of  the  wondrous  power  and 
majesty  of  God,"  replied  Brother  Enoch  rever- 
ently, "naught  else." 

"And  yet  thou  knowest  in  1680  there  appeared 
a  comet  in  the  Vaterland — oft  have  I  heard  my 
father  tell  of  it — not  so  great  as  this,  nor  with  so 
long  a  tail.  After  that  comet  there  followed  a  long 
and  weary  war,  from  which  our  beloved  Vaterland 
hath  never  recovered.  Dost  thou  not  fear  this 
fiery  star,  so  much  greater  than  the  other,  por- 
tendeth  war  and  famine  and  pestilence  to  this 
New  World  ? " 

"  Nay,"  I  heard  Brother  Enoch  say,  "  the  holy 
word  promiseth  all  such  dire  calamities  because  of 
man's  wickedness,  not  because  of  comets." 

"  But  comets  may  be  the  sign  of  His  displeasure, 
as  the  rainbow  is  the  sign  of  his  covenant  with 
Noah,"  persisted  Brother  Gabriel. 

"  I  only  know  the  holy  book  sayeth  naught  of 
comets." 

"  The  comet  is  the  fiery  sword  of  the  Lord 
whereby  he  shall  cut  down  all  the  scoffers  and  the 
ungodly,"  interrupted  Brother  Jephune  warningly. 
"  I  tell  thee  there  will  be  much  sickness  and  death, 


THE   GREAT    COMET  l6l 

and  as  the  comet  will  disappear  in  Pisces,  so  I  read 
its  course,  it  presages  misfortune  to  all  the  fish 
within  the  waters,  and  in  this  our  Brother  Christo- 
pher Sauer,  of  Germantown,  agreeth." 

"And  yet,  Brother  Jephune,"  rejoined  Brother 
Weiser  with  a  faint  smile,"  "the  innocent  fish 
have  not  sinned." 

"  Brother  Sauer  also  reporteth,"  continued  our 
astronomer,  unheeding  the  mockery  in  Brother 
Weiser's  voice,  "  the  good  people  in  New  England 
take  it  seriously  to  heart  that  God  is  threatening 
a  great  judgment  upon  the  evil  ones  of  earth." 

"And  heed  thou,  Brother  Weiser,"  enjoined 
Brother  Gabriel,  "thou  sittest  not  in  the  seat  of  the 
scornful  when  the  judgment  cometh." 

"  Nor  thou  with  the  sorcerers  and  those  who 
practise  enchantments  !  "  retorted  Brother  Enoch. 

"  What  else  doth  our  Brother  Christopher  say  of 
this  glaring  visitant  ?  "  asked  Brother  Beissel  in  the 
hope  of  pouring  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters. 

"The  printer  sayeth  that  while  the  star  first  ap- 
peared in  Aries,  the  habitation  of  Mars,  and  set  in 
Pisces  there  shall  come  great  changes,  disturb- 
ances, wrath,  confusion,  and  disorder,  upon  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  This  cometh  from  Mars. 
As  Pisces  is  the  dwelling-place  of  Jupiter  it  fore- 
shadoweth  equal  disturbances  in  spiritual  things  ; 
there  will  be  many  changes  and  great  confusion 
followed  by  dreadful  quick-coming  judgments.    As 


1 62  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

the  star  latterly  hath  so  rapid  a  course,  and  burns 
like  unto  a  great  naming  torch  with  a  long,  fiery 
tail,  he  holdeth  that  the  destruction  of  the  relig- 
ious Babylonian  order  is  near  at  hand." 

"  Sayeth  he  no  more — what  cometh  after  all 
this  destruction  of  evil  ?  Surely  light  must  follow 
darkness  !  "  inquired  our  leader  eagerly. 

"  Even  so  ;  for  our  learned  Christopher  sayeth, 
and  I  agree  with  him,  that  a  newer,  better  order 
will  follow.  The  comet  seemeth  again  to  be  mov- 
ing toward  the  sun  as  if  to  effect  conjunction  with 
it  in  the  middle  line.  This  foretelleth  that  the 
comet,  the  evil,  shall  be  swallowed  up  by  the  sun, 
the  source  of  light  and  life.  Thus  the  darkness 
of  sin  shall  disappear  from  the  face  of  the  earth 
and  the  light  of  His  grace,  and  mercy  shall  shine 
forever  from  the  hearts  of  men." 

"  Even  so,  Lord,  let  it  be,"  said  our  leader  most 
solemnly,  "let  thy  kingdom  come  quickly." 

To  which  we  all  responded  in  equal  solemnity, 
"Amen." 

And  then  just  as  we  were  about  to  take  our  way 
back  to  our  Kammers,  there  arose  without  the 
slightest  warning  such  a  savage,  blood-freezing, 
wailing  cry  from  the  woods  hard  by  us,  that  by 
one  accord  each  gripped  the  other  by  the  arm  as 
if  in  the  presence  of  some  awful,  common  danger, 
my  poor  Sonnlein  rushing  into  mine  arms  almost 
speechless  with  terror. 


THE    GREAT    COMET  1 63 

In  truth,  each  for  the  time  was  paralyzed  with 
that  cry  that  sounded  like  the  wail  of  a  soul  in  the 
torments  of  the  damned.  Finally,  Brother  Gabriel 
whispered,  his  teeth  chattering  so  that  he  could 
scarcely  utter  a  word,  "  'Twas  the  Evil  One,  he 
knoweth  his  end  is  nigh." 

"  Doth  not  Revelation  say  Satan  is  to  be  bound 
and  thrust  into  the  bottomless  pit  ? "  gasped 
Brother  Beissel. 

"  Heard  ye  not  the  clanking  of  the  chains  ? " 
whispered  Brother  Onesimus. 

"What  was't,  Vaterchen?"  whispered  Sonnlein, 
who  was  still  shivering  in  my  embrace. 

"  Some  wild  beast  that  hath  strayed  nigh  ;  "  for 
in  my  hermit  days  I  had  more  than  once  heard 
the  panther's  terrifying  howl,  in  the  darkness  of 
the  night. 

"Was't  an  Indian,   Vaterchen?" 

"Nay,  my  son,"  replied  Brother  Enoch  for  me, 
"  the  Indians  are  at  peace  with  us.  "  'Twas  no 
human  voice." 

"Was't  some  wild  beast,  thinkest  thou  ?"  asked 
Brother  Gabriel. 

"  Nay,  it  sounded  not  so  to  me  ;  I  know  not 
what  it  was.  It  is  a  great  mystery  to  me,"  replied 
Brother  Enoch  slowly,  which  was  a  great  deal  for 
our  clear-headed  brother  to  admit. 

"  'Twas  the  cry  of  the  Evil  One,  naught  else," 
declared  Brother  Jephune. 


I64  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"And  in  this  I  agree  with  thee,"  solemnly  spake 
our  leader ;  "  great  and  gracious  is  our  Lord  to 
show  us  these  marvelous  signs  of  his  coming.  Let 
us  go  to  our  rest  in  peace  and  gladness,  and  await 
the  dawn  of  his  kingdom  in  the  earth." 

And  so  we  went  full  of  such  devout  hopes  to 
our  narrow  cells  ;  but  somehow  I  could  not  shake 
from  my  mind  that  the  cry  came  from  our  old 
enemy,  the  witch. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


A    FAR   JOURNEY 


With  God — over  the  sea  ; 

Without  him — not  over  the  threshold. 

— Russian  Proverb. 


T  the  time  of  which  I 
write  this,  the  fall  of 
1744,  Prior  Onesimus 
and  his  three  brothers 
were  in  the  ascendency, 
and  for  a  time  it  seemed 
as  though  Brother  Beis- 
sel  would  be  completely 
overthrown  in  his  rule 
by  these  designing  Eck- 
erlings  ;  but  they  who 
thought  our  superintendent  easy  to  overcome  reck- 
oned without  their  host,  for  while  to  the  worldly 
minded  he  had  not  the  graces  and  attractiveness 
that  marked  our  prior,  our  superintendent,  though 
harmless  as  a  dove,  had  the  wisdom  and  subtilty 
of  the  serpent,  and  thus  at  this  time,  when  the 
strain  between  these  two  had  increased  from  day 
to  day,  Prior  Onesimus,  no  doubt  for  purposes  of 

165 


1 66  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

his  own,  conceived  the  idea  that  we  make  a  pil- 
grimage to  the  Sabbatarian  communities  in  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island.  I  recollect  full  well 
that  when  he  made  his  desire  known  to  our  super- 
intendent, suggesting  possibly  a  short  absence 
would  tend  to  heal  their  differences,  Brother  Beissel 
at  once  gave  his  consent. 

But  if  our  prior  had  thought  to  surround  himself 
with  his  own  followers  and  thus  make  this  enter- 
prise redound  solely  to  his  credit  he  was  greatly 
mistaken,  for  the  superintendent  quietly  suggested 
the  prior  take  with  him  his  own  brother,  Jephune, 
and  Brother  Timotheus  (Alexander  Mack),  and 
myself  as  traveling  companions,  the  prior  being 
promised  by  our  superintendent  that  in  the  mean- 
time he  would  attend  to  the  prior's  duties  at  the 
meetings.  This  was  not  exactly  to  our  prior's 
liking,  but  Brother  Beissel  pointed  out  that  these 
brethren  were  selected  in  order  to  insure  the  suc- 
cess of  the  expedition  as  well  as  the  welfare  and 
comfort  of  the  party.  Thus  the  prior  would  repre- 
sent the  Zionitic  Brethren  and  the  Theosophists 
of  the  community ;  Brother  Timotheus,  the  secular 
congregation  and  the  Baptists  in  general ;  Jephune, 
our  mystic  and  astrologer,  would  serve  as  the 
physician  of  the  party ;  while  I  was  to  be  the 
theologian  and  interpreter. 

Thus  it  was  arranged  and  we  at  once  began  our 
brief  preparations  for  the  journey  :  extra  soles  for 


A   FAR   JOURNEY  1 67 

our  wooden  sandals,  the  points  of  our  pilgrim  staffs 
sharpened,  a  day's  provisions  for  the  inner  man,  a 
copy  of  the  "  WeyraucJis  Hiigel"  and  a  few  of 
Brother  Beissel's  "  Theosophischc  Episteln"  for  the 
spiritual  man.  I  have  it  on  my  records  that  this 
occurred  on  the  Friday  of  September  21,  1744, 
almost  a  year  since  our  dear  sister  had  left  us,  on 
the  night  of  which  an  unusually  solemn  love  feast 
was  held  in  the  Saal,  at  Zion,  in  our  honor.  The 
services  lasted  far  into  the  night,  even  the  hours 
between  the  midnight  prayers  and  the  dawn  being 
passed  in  prayer.  The  next  morning  being  our 
Sabbath  we  all  were  present  at  the  meeting  of  the 
congregation,  where  every  one  bade  us  a  most 
loving  God-speed. 

But  in  all  these  simple  preparations  and  pious 
services  I  confess  I  had  nigh  forgotten  my  Sonn- 
lein,  and  when  the  thought  of  him  came  to  me  on 
that  Sabbath  Day  as  to  what  he  would  do  in  my 
absence,  I  feared  I  should  have  to  seek  my  release 
from  the  superintendent,  for  I  am  proud  to  say, 
never  did  boy  hang  to  his  mother's  skirts  more 
closely  than  did  Sonnlein  follow  upon  my  heels, 
so  much  so  it  became  a  byword  in  our  little  camp 
that  it  could  be  depended  on  when  one  of  us  ap- 
peared, it  would  not  be  long  until  you  saw  the 
other,  and  indeed  we  were  inseparable.  During 
the  day  he  would  trot  after  me  wherever  my  duties 
took  me,  whether  in  the  fields  or  in  the  printing 


1 68  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

room,  or  rambling  in  the  woods  for  wild  flowers, 
and  as  he  grew  older  he  insisted  upon  attending 
the  midnight  devotions,  just  as  the  grown-up 
Brothers  and  Sisters.  With  the  exception  of  my 
brief  sojourn  in  Lancaster  in  the  matter  of  the 
levies,  we  had  never  been  separated  for  more  than 
a  few  hours  at  a  time,  and  I  knew  if  I  left  him 
now  for  this  long  journey  the  poor  boy  would  be 
utterly  disconsolate.  I  also  knew  full  well  that 
our  Brother  Beissel,  though  not  a  hater  of  chil- 
dren, still  had  little  patience  with  them,  and  I 
doubted  much  whether  he  and  Sonnlein  could 
stand  the  trial  of  my  long  absence.  I  called  Sonn- 
lein to  me  and  told  him  I  was  about  to  go  away 
for  a  great  many  weeks.  At  once  he  danced  and 
jumped  about  me  in  a  most  uncloistral  manner, 
apparently  never  doubting  for  a  moment  that,  as 
in  the  past,  he  would  be  with  me ;  but  when  I  said 
to  him,  "Tis  a  far  journey,  Sonnlein,  too  far  for 
thee,"  I  saw  the  tears  in  his  eyes,  though  he  tried 
to  keep  them  down  as  he  asked  : 

"  Am  I  not  to  go  with  thee,  Vaterchen  ?  " 
"  Nay,  I  fear  not,  Sonnlein  ;  'tis  a  long  way  over 
rough  roads  and  through  tangled  paths,  through 
great,  lonely  forests,  where  there  are  wild  beasts, 
and  then  the  wild  sea  to  make  thee  sick.  We  know 
not  what  hardships  we  may  have  to  endure." 

"  But  I  can  walk,  Vaterchen;  I  am  not  afraid  of 
the  lonely  woods,  not  if  I  am  with  thee." 


A    FAR   JOURNEY  169 

"  But  how  about  the  sea  ?  " 

"  Thou  canst  give  me  physic,"  he  replied  so 
innocently  I  could  not  refrain  from  laughing, 
whereat  he  pouted  and  grumbled,  "  I'm  not  afraid 
of  the  sea,  and  on  land  I  can  walk  as  well  as  i  Old 
Air-smeller.'  " 

"  What  !  "  I  cried  in  amazement.  M  Whom  dost 
mean  by  such  irreverent  name?"  I  demanded. 

" Brother  Jephune,"  he  confessed;  "he  sticketh 
his  nose  into  the  air  when  he  walketh  about,  so  he 
falleth  over  everything." 

"  Is't  needful  you  call  him  such  name?" 

"  So  the  neighbors  call  him." 

"  Must  do  what  foolish  ones  do  ? " 

"  Nay  ;  "  and  then,  looking  up  with  repentance 
writ  all  over  him,  he  said,  "  May  I  go  ?  I  can 
walk  and  I  won't  mind  the  water.  Thou  knowest 
I  am  fond  of  water,"  which  was  the  truth,  for 
when  he  was  not  with  me  he  was  swimming  or 
fishing  in  the  Cocalico,  or  hunting  in  the  woods 
when  the  Cocalico  was  too  cold. 

Indeed,  I  doubted  not  he  could  endure  the  jour- 
ney as  well  as  most  of  us,  for  he  was  a  hardy, 
active  boy,  and  with  our  healthful  life  had  never 
known  a  day  of  sickness.  I  liked  no  better  to  be 
separated  from  him  than  did  he,  and  had  he  quietly 
taken  my  suggestion  to  remain  I  had  been  greatly 
disappointed ;  but  when  I  broached  the  matter  to 
my  brother  pilgrims  they  at  first  demurred,  and  yet 


1^0  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

they  loved  my  boy,  for  with  all  his  mischievous- 
ness  he  was  always  ready  and  willing  to  do  the 
bidding  of  any  of  them.  Finally,  upon  my  per- 
suasions, they  acknowledged  it  would  be  safe  for 
him  to  make  the  journey.  Accordingly  I  prepared 
a  little  pilgrim's  staff  for  him  and  saw  that  he  had 
a  stout  pair  of  sandals,  and  with  a  little  bag  of  pro- 
visions for  him  we  started  out  at  six  o'clock  of  that 
Sabbath  evening  on  our  journey,  the  assembled 
Brotherhood  and  Sisterhood  watching  us  from 
Mount  Zion  until  we  were  out  of  sight. 

But  once  fairly  upon  our  way,  we  walked,  as  was 
our  custom,  bareheaded  and  silently,  in  single  file, 
Prior  Onesimus  at  the  head  and  myself  at  the  rear, 
all  except  Sonnlein,  who  neither  kept  silence  nor 
in  file,  almost  exhausting  me  with  his  innumerable 
questions  ;  at  one  moment  he  would  be  ahead  of 
us  and  the  next  in  the  rear,  now  stopping  to  gather 
a  handful  of  nuts  that  had  dropped  from  the  trees 
along  our  way  or  else  to  pluck  the  wild  grapes 
that  hung  in  royal  purple  from  the  luxuriant  vines, 
and  then  rushing  after  me,  tempting  me  to  share 
his  feast. 

At  first  our  course  led  us  through  the  settle- 
ments of  our  German  brethren  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Lancaster  County ;  thence  among  our  English 
brethren  in  Nantmill,  where  we  stopped  for  a  few 
days  and  held  several  missionary  meetings.  From 
the  Falls  of  French  Creek  we  took  the  road  among 


A    FAR    JOURNEY  1^1 

the  German  families  ;  thence  across  the  Schuylkill 
to  the  German  settlements  along  the  roadside 
leading  to  Germantown.  A  somewhat  prolonged 
stop  was  made  with  our  brother  mystics  on  the 
Wissahickon,  among  whom  we  found  much  solace 
and  comfort ;  thence  a  short  visit  to  the  brethren 
of  the  faith  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  ;  thence  our 
missionary  tour  took  us  to  the  Pennepack. 

Thus  far  our  pilgrimage  had  taken  us  mainly 
among  the  brethren  of  our  own  belief,  and  yet 
wherever  we  went  our  bare,  cropped  heads,  long 
beards,  white  cloaks  and  cowls,  our  silence  and 
manner  of  traveling,  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion and  even  ridicule  and  grossest  insults,  Sonn 
lein,  however,  being  never  late  in  informing  the 
curious  ones  who  we  were ;  and  while  I  admon- 
ished him  frequently  against  his  too  great  freedom 
with  strangers,  there  is  no  doubt  that  by  his  frank- 
ness he  saved  us  much  annoyance,  for  I  have  long 
ago  learned  that  one  will  be  forgiven  much  if  he 
only  be  open  and  candid,  no  matter  how  wicked  he 
be  ;  but  if,  like  a  turtle,  he  keep  within  his  shell 
and  mind  his  own  business  like  a  good,  honest 
turtle,  every  idler  and  good-for-naught  must  hurl 
stones  at  him  to  crack  his  shell. 

After  crossing  the  Neshaminy  Creek  at  the 
falls  we  were  ferried  across  the  Delaware — a  won- 
derful sight  to  Sonnlein — and  entered  our  sister 
province  of  New  Jersey.     Arriving  at  Amwell,  we 


172  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

were  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  the  converts  baptized 
some  six  years  before  by  some  of  our  brethren 
still  keeping  up  their  organization  and  consider- 
ing themselves  a  branch  of  the  parent  community 
at  Ephrata. 

We  remained  here  for  some  time  and  then 
parted  from  our  dear  brethren  in  mutual  sadness, 
for  we  knew  not  whether  we  should  ever  see  each 
other  again. 

And  now  our  journey  took  us  through  long 
stretches  of  forest  and  for  miles  and  miles  our 
way  was  but  a  narrow  path  among  tall,  solemn 
pines  so  thickly  grown  and  so  crowded  with  brush 
and  vines  underneath  as  to  have  a  most  gloomy 
and  depressing  effect  even  upon  the  most  cheerful 
of  us.  Now  and  then  we  came  upon  some  little 
stream  or  pond  that  looked  almost  black  under  the 
shadows  of  the  bordering  pines.  These  streams 
and  ponds  were  the  only  changes  in  the  landscape 
excepting  the  occasional  sand  hills,  and  the  only 
sound  to  break  the  monotony  would  be  the  note  of 
some  bird.  Houses  we  saw  not  for  hours  and 
even  for  days,  and  many  a  night  we  slept  within 
the  folds  of  these  dark  and  gloomy  forests,  our 
roof  the  thick,  heavy  branches  of  the  pines,  through 
which,  on  clear  nights,  the  stars  smiled  down 
cheerily. 

But  though  the  nights  were  already  cold  and 
frosty  and  I  feared  exceedingly  Sonnlein   would 


A   FAR   JOURNEY  1 73 

suffer  from  the  exposure,  still  with  a  fire  burning 
all  night  to  keep  us  warm  and  to  frighten  away 
wild  beasts  we  minded  not  the  hard,  rough  earth 
with  the  thin  carpet  of  pine  twigs  and  needles  any 
more  than  our  hard  benches  in  our  Rammers. 
Sonnlein  invariably  slept  between  me  and  Brother 
Timotheus,  thus  being  sheltered  somewhat  from 
the  winds  that  even  the  thick  forest  could  not  en- 
tirely keep  from  us. 

After  some  days'  travel  in  this  wise  we  finally 
came  to  the  region  between  the  Shark  and  Squan 
Rivers,  where  we  found  a  little  community  of  about 
fifteen  adult  members,  Sabbatarians,  who  had  mi- 
grated from  Stonington,  Connecticut,  and  Wes- 
terly, Rhode  Island,  and  who  had  signed  a  cove- 
nant binding  themselves  to  live  and  walk  together 
as  Christian  people,  although  they  had  no  church 
or  pastor.  A  number  of  meetings  were  arranged 
in  our  honor,  and  at  these  I  preached  and  admon- 
ished them  to  remain  steadfast  in  their  faith,  so 
that  I  was  gratified  to  note  our  efforts  resulted  in  a 
church's  being  organized,  Brother  William  Davis, 
the  elder,  although  in  his  eighty-first  year,  being 
chosen  pastor. 

Leaving  Shrewsbury,  as  this  church  is  referred 
to  in  our  records,  we  wended  our  way  southward 
until  we  came  to  a  place  on  the  west  shore  of  Bar- 
negat  Bay,  almost  directly  opposite  the  outlet  of 
this  beautiful  bay  into  the  ocean.     Here  was  an- 


174  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

other  settlement  of  New  England  Sabbatarians, 
who  were  known  as  "  Rogerines,"  a  band  of  about 
twenty-one  persons.  They  received  us  with  open 
arms  and  we  were  most  hospitably  entertained  by 
Brother  John  Culver — the  most  prominent  among 
the  Rogerines — who  had  made  several  visits  to 
Amwell  and  to  Ephrata  and  upon  whose  earnest 
invitation  we  had  come  to  Barnegat.  These  good 
people  looked  upon  us  as  holy  men,  so  that  they 
brought  their  sick  to  us  in  the  hope  that  they 
might  be  healed  by  the  very  laying  on  of  hands 
and  prayer,  as  our  Rogerine  brethren  used  no 
medicines  nor  would  they  employ  physicians,  rely- 
ing upon  strictly  scriptural  means  for  relief  from 
illness.  While  we  agreed  not  -on  all  doctrinal 
points,  still  in  so  much  of  our  manner  of  life  and 
belief  we  were  in  such  perfect  accord  that  our  stay 
was  exceedingly  refreshing  to  our  souls,  and  it  was 
through  these  good  people  as  much  as  anything 
else  we  extended  our  visit  to  New  England,  stop- 
ping on  our  way  to  visit  one  John  Lovell,  an  old 
Pythagorean,  who  lived  as  a  hermit  in  the  dense 
woods  about  four  miles  from  Burlington,  through- 
out the  seasons,  without  fire,  in  a  cell  made  by  the 
side  of  an  old  log,  in  the  form  of  an  oven,  not  high 
enough  or  long  enough  to  stand  upright  in  or  lie 
extended. 

I  mean  not  to  be  harsh  or  unjust  to  this  surly 
hermit,  who  lived  more  like  a  beast  than  man,  but 


A    FAR   JOURNEY  1 75 

in  his  boyish  straightness  of  speech  Sonnlein  spoke 
out  full  well  what  was  in  my  mind  and  I  doubt  not 
in  my  brethren's  also  when  he  said,  "  Brother 
Lovell  hath  his  soul  from  a  pig  or  else  would  he 
not  be  so  dirty,"  for  we  did  not  believe  that  our 
Lord  any  more  than  mortal  man  cared  to  look 
upon  dirty,  sour  faces.  We  held  that  a  contented 
mind  showed  itself  in  a  bright,  cheerful  face,  and 
thus  it  was  our  habit  at  Ephrata,  with  both  Brother 
and  Sister,  always  to  be  satisfied  and  to  bear  ever 
a  glad  countenance,  even  though  the  bitterness  of 
death  were  upon  us,  and  for  this  we  have  the 
Scriptures. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


IN    A    STRANGE    LAND 


Oct.  10,  1744.  I  went  to  John  Bolles  to  see  4  men  Yt 
come  from  beyond  Barnegat,  with  long  beards  8  or  9  inches, 
and  strangely  clothed,  no  hats  and  all  in  white,  but  they 
were  not  there. — Extract  from  diary  of  Joshua  He?np- 
stead,  of  New  London. 

|ROM  the  hermit's  hut  we 
proceeded  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  by  good  for- 
tune found,  as  though 
especially  waiting  for 
us,  a  vessel  about  to  sail 
for  New  England.  Our 
journey  thus  far  had 
been  mainly  among 
friends;  but  now,  even 
though  we  had  a  letter 
of  introduction  from  our  Barnegat  brethren  to  the 
Rogerines  in  New  London,  we  could  not  with  all 
our  faith  and  fortitude  repress  the  dismal  forebod- 
ings of  trials  and  persecutions  we  should  encoun- 
ter there  on  account  of  our  beliefs — all  except 
Sonnlein,  to  whom  this  pilgrimage  was  full  of 
marvel  and  delight,  and  now  that  he  was  about  to 
176 


IN    A    STRANGE    LAND  177 

go  out  upon  the  sea  his  joy  knew  no  bounds,  for 
verily  he  was  born  under  Pisces. 

But  having  put  our  hands  to  the  helm  we  would 
not  look  back,  and  Brother  Onesimus  having  se- 
cured passage  for  us  we  set  sail,  and  barring  that 
our  good  prior  was  most  wretchedly  seasick  all  of 
the  voyage,  while  Sonnlein  was  sick  but  the  first 
day,  when  he  would  have  neither  food  nor  physic, 
we  landed  near  New  London  in  less  than  a  fort- 
night, safe  and  sound,  hundreds  of  miles  from 
home,  in  a  strange  country,  no  friends,  and  so 
despised  because  of  our  white  dress  and  our  other- 
wise monkish  aspect  that  whoever  saw  us  fled  as 
though  we  were  the  plague. 

Fortunately,  our  letter  rescued  us  from  much 
annoyance,  for  a  prominent  member  of  the  Roger- 
ines,  Brother  Bolles,  hearing  of  our  arrival  came 
to  us  and  on  reading  our  letter  received  us  affec- 
tionately and  harbored  us  so  hospitably,  not  far 
from  the  town,  that  we  soon  forgot  our  forebodings. 
And  yet  no  sooner  did  our  coming  become  known 
in  New  London  than  did  a  new  danger  arise  against 
us,  for  the  very  day  we  landed  the  little  sea- 
port was  wild  with  excitement  over  the  news  that 
France  had  joined  issue  with  Spain  against  England. 
This  coincidence  coupled  with  our  unusual  manner 
and  garb  was  too  weighty  a  proof  to  be  disregarded 
that  we  were  Jesuit  priests,  French  spies  in  dis- 
guise.    Forthwith  officers  presented  themselves  at 


I78  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

the  quiet  little  homestead  of  our  Brother  Bolles, 
arrested  us,  and  marched  us  into  New  London, 
and  had  all  the  threats  hurled  at  us  by  the  excited 
inhabitants  while  on  our  way  to  the  justices  been 
executed,  we  had  been  undone. 

Happily  our  host,  a  respectable  and  influential 
citizen,  personally  vouched  that  we  were  Protes- 
tants by  birth  and  profession,  whereupon  our  free- 
dom was  at  once  given  us,  and  we  were  once  more 
taken  in  charge  by  the  Rogerines  of  New  London, 
by  whom  we  were  so  held  in  kindness  and  esteem 
that  whenever  we  stirred  abroad  we  had  in  our 
train  no  less  than  fifty  persons,  among  them  black 
men — of  whom  Sonnlein  was  sore  afraid,  never 
having  seen  human  beings  of  such  color — and 
Indians,  the  former  being  servants,  and  for  whose 
spiritual  welfare  their  masters  were  as  solicitous 
as  of  their  own,  which  thing  we  much  admired. 

We  found  the  people  of  this  region  in  a  state  of 
great  religious  excitement,  the  Congregationalists 
and  the  New  Lights  being  especially  bitter  against 
each  other,  so  that  wherever  representatives  of 
these  beliefs  came  into  each  others'  presence  they 
did  nothing  but  argue  and  dispute ;  and  so  far  was 
this  pernicious  custom  carried  that  when  a  Con- 
gregationalist  met  a  New  Light,  unless  both  were 
deaf  and  dumb,  they  would  seat  themselves  on 
chairs,  while  about  these  wordy  knights  of  the 
gospel  would  gather  the  listeners,  in  a  circle,  dis- 


IN    A    STkANGE    LAND  179 

putants  and  listeners  often  giving  vent  to  the  most 
violent  passions,  all  of  which  greatly  shocked  my 
brethren  and  me,  yet  showing  us  that,  the  world 
over,  men  are  much  the  same  when  it  cometh  to 
difference  in  belief. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  they  mostly  disputed 
about  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  and  if  the 
saints  were  as  persistent  in  meek  obedience  and 
loving  deeds  as  were  these  wordy  warriors  in  their 
vociferous  arguments,  I  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt  but  that  the  saints  have  received  rich  re- 
ward. However,  my  brethren  and  I  did  all  in  our 
power,  in  patience  and  long-suffering,  to  allay  the 
bitterness  of  this  unseemly  strife  that  left  no  peace 
whatever  in  this  and  the  neighboring  towns ;  and 
I  rejoice  to  say  our  presence  and  persuasions  did 
much  toward  this  desirable  end,  for  in  all  their 
heat  they  could  not  but  see  we  had  no  other 
motive  than  to  speak  the  truth,  fairly  and  impar- 
tially, and  with  due  consideration  for  the  views  of 
the  contestants. 

We  soon  grew  to  love  and  esteem  our  good 
Rogerine  brethren,  and  I  feel  we  endeared  our- 
selves to  them.  We  had  much  in  common  ;  we 
like  them  were  regarded  by  the  world  as  a  peculiar 
people.  Even  the  tolerant  laws  of  Penn  were  not 
always  sufficient  to  save  us  from  persecutions,  just 
as  our  New  England  brethren,  because  they  con- 
formed not  to  the  beliefs  in  power,  suffered  fines, 


l80  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

imprisonments,  and  even  the  awful  indignity  of 
public  whippings  for  His  sake. 

Unlike  us  they  practised  not  celibacy,  but  they 
held  firmly  to  the  doctrine  of  non-resistance  and 
that  the  reading  of  set  public  prayers  and  preaching 
for  pay  was  utterly  unscriptural.  They  agreed  also 
with  us  in  regard  to  keeping  the  seventh  day  in- 
stead of  the  first,  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  baptism  by  immersion.  But  like  their 
Rogerine  brethren  on  Barnegat  Bay  it  was  contrary 
to  their  tenets  to  employ  physicians  or  to  use  medi- 
cines in  case  of  sickness,  although  for  ordinary 
ailments  some  of  the  less  extreme  Rogerines  used 
the  customary  remedies  and  were  excellent  nurses, 
being  ever  ready  to  minister  to  the  sick. 

Having  thus  so  much  in  common  it  would  seem 
there  should  have  been  no  danger  of  any  serious 
disagreement  between  us,  and  yet  it  tried  my 
brother  pilgrims  and  myself  sorely  to  prevent  open 
rupture  by  reason  of  our  being  unable  to  admit 
all  our  good  friends  claimed  as  to  the  scriptural 
manner  of  healing.  Finally,  upon  mutual  prom- 
ises that  if  any  one  on  either  side  should  become 
angry  the  discussion  should  stop  immediately,  we 
took  up  the  question  of  healing. 

Thus  spake  the  Rogerine,  calmly :  "  We  base  our 
beliefs  on  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament." 

Brother  Onesimus,  similiter:  "  We  also  base  our 
mode  of  life  on  the  Bible." 


IN    A   STRANGE   LAND  I  8  I 

Rogerine,  still  calmly :  "  The  Almighty  not  only 
hath  infinite  power  to  cure  diseases,  but  hath  also 
blessed  willingness  so  to  do." 

Brother  Jephune,  gently :  "  We  admit  the  Al- 
mighty hath  the  power,  but  whether  he  hath  the 
willingness  we  are  not  ready  to  say." 

Rogerine,  a  trifle  ungently :  "  The  treatment  the 
physicians  give  is  bungling  and  dangerous  and 
greatly  uncertain.  Were  a  dozen  doctors  to  treat 
the  same  man  that  man  would  receive  physic  for 
twelve  different  diseases.  Christ's  cures  were  all 
perfect." 

Brother  TtmotheUs,  graciously  :  "  Truly  should 
physicians  be  modest  men,  for  theirs  is  a  difficult 
art  in  that  so  many  different  diseases  have  similar 
symptoms.  And  yet  we  regard  healing  as  an  art, 
though  imperfect  as  is  all  human  art.  Christ  was 
perfect  preacher  as  well  as  perfect  healer,  yet 
there  be  bungling  preachers  as  there  be  bungling 
physicians." 

Rogerine,  positively :  "  Christ  healed  without 
physic  and  the  disciples  had  his  promise  of  such 
cures  for  all  who  asked  in  faith." 

Brother  Jabez,  humbly  :  "  Though  Christ  healed 
without  physic,  nevertheless  he  pointed  to  the  use 
of  natural  means  by  the  spittle  on  the  blind  man's 
eyes  and  washing  in  the  pool  of  Siloam.  Naaman 
bathed  in  the  Jordan  seven  times.  Is  it  not  writ- 
ten we  are  created  in  his  image  ?     Doth  that  not 


1 82  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

mean  that  these  wonderful  bodies  of  ours  and  our 
surpassing  marvelous  minds  were  made  to  perform 
wonderful  and  marvelous  things  ?  Ye  will  also 
admit  that  not  only  did  Christ  heal  the  halt,  the 
lame,  and  the  blind,  but  that  he  also  fed  the  five 
thousand  with  but  a  few  loaves  and  fishes ;  Elijah 
was  fed  by  the  ravens  ;  the  widow's  cruse  of  oil 
never  failed.  No  doubt  the  Almighty  hath  power 
to  heal  us  better  than  the  physicians,  who  oft  work 
in  darkness,  and  to  feed  us  better  than  the  hus- 
bandmen, who  are  not  always  certain  of  their 
harvests." 

Rogerine,  indignantly  :  "  Would  ye  ask  of  Him 
that  while  we  sit  here  idle,  with  grain  in  the  fields 
for  bread,  and  abundance  of  fish  in  the  sea  for 
meat,  we  should  expect  him  to  feed  us  like  idle, 
helpless  children  ?  " 

Brother  Jabez,  smiling  subtilely  :  "  Why  not  ?  If 
with  our  God-like  powers  we  do  not  search  into 
the  healing  properties  of  the  herbs  of  the  fields 
and  the  salts  of  the  earth,  and  try  to  heal  our- 
selves, it  seemeth  to  me  we  have  just  as  much  Scrip- 
ture to  sit  still  and  let  him  feed  us." 

Rogerine,  indignantly  :  "  Brother,  thy  speech 
seemeth  almost  blasphemous.  We  hold  our  views 
from  the  Scriptures." 

Brother  Jabez,  still  mildly  :  "  So  do  we  ;  but  it 
is  with  the  Scriptures  as  in  the  law ;  he  who  stick- 
eth  to  the  letter  loseth  the  true  meaning.     My  be- 


IN    A   STRANGE   LAND  1 83 

loved  brethren,  for  indeed  ye  are  so  to  us,  he  who 
readeth  not  God's  holy  word  in  the  Spirit  cannot 
understand  it  and  findeth  therein  many  inconsist- 
encies and  grounds  for  unsafe  doctrines.  We  too 
believe  that  faith  can  perform  miracles,  but  the 
Almighty  never  intended  we  should  nourish  and 
heal  our  bodies  by  dependence  on  miracles,  or  else 
would  not  he  have  given  us  these  miraculous  bodies 
and  minds." 

Rogerine,  quietly  :  "  We  thank  thee,  brother,  but 
are  not  convinced  we  are  in  error.  Let  us  not 
imperil  our  love  by  useless  argument." 

"  So  be  it,"  I  replied,  and  thus  the  discussion 
was  safely  ended. 

But  so  great  was  the  faith  of  one  of  our  Rogerine 
brethren,  we  were  told,  that  when  the  smallpox 
raged  in  Boston  some  twenty  years  before,  he 
journeyed  one  hundred  miles  to  the  infected  city 
to  prove  his  faith  would  save  him  from  the  terrible 
contagion ;  for  it  had  been  his  custom  for  over 
forty  years  of  his  life  to  minister  to  those  sick  of 
that  disease.  This  time,  however,  he  caught  the 
distemper,  which  developed  after  his  return  home 
and  brought  him  to  his  grave,  as  well  as  two  other 
members  of  his  family ;  and  in  this  connection,  to 
show  how  we  poor  mortals  are  prone  to  carry  our 
beliefs  and  doctrines  to  most  foolish  lengths  it  was 
also  told  me,  by  the  Rogerine  brethren  themselves, 
and  not  by  their  enemies,  that  a  few  years  prior  to 


1 84  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

our  visit  a  certain  skin  disorder  had  broken  out 
among  the  congregation ;  but  as  their  faith  fore- 
bade  the  use  of  medicines  they  knew  not  what  to 
do.  In  this  predicament  a  church  meeting  was 
called  to  deliberate  how  they  might  get  rid  of  the 
disorder  and  yet  preserve  a  clear  conscience.  After 
a  most  prolonged  meeting  and  the  profoundest  de- 
liberations in  which  holy  writ  was  thoroughly 
searched  for  precedent,  it  was  solemnly  resolved 
that  this  most  uncomfortable  disease,  which  we 
were  told  was  the  itch,  was  not  a  bodily  ailment ; 
but  was  a  noxious  animal  which  had  burrowed  into 
their  flesh.  Of  course,  there  being  in  their  belief 
nothing  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  wild  animals 
the  usual  remedies  for  this  particular  species  were 
accordingly  applied,  whereupon  the  "  itchy  beasts  " 
were  duly  slain  and  eradicated,  and  the  consciences 
of  our  pious  brethren  preserved. 

From  New  London  we  made  an  extended  visit 
to  our  Sabbatarian  brethren  of  the  Newport  and 
Old  Hopkinton  churches,  in  the  province  of  Rhode 
Island.  Here  too,  our  appearance  created  much 
excitement  but  fortunately  provoked  no  arrest. 
Our  visit  here,  like  all  our  visits,  was  a  season  of 
great  refreshing  for  our  souls,  and  it  is  my  belief 
that  we  helped  and  strengthened  our  brethren  as 
they  did  help  and  strengthen  us. 

Upon  our  return  from  Rhode  Island  to  New 
London  we  were  entertained  by  our  good  brother 


IN    A   STRANGE   LAND  1 85 

Ebenezer  Bolles,  one  of  the  town's  wealthiest  mer- 
chants. At  that  time  he  lived  a  single  life,  being 
a  blessed  virtuous  man.  We  tried  to  persuade  him 
to  remain  in  this  most  perfect  and  holy  state,  but 
shortly  after  we  left  he  married.  Many  years 
afterward  we  heard  at  Ephrata  with  great  sorrow 
that  he  had  passed  away ;  that  a  few  days  before 
his  death,  being  then  in  good  health,  he  had  been 
cutting  some  vines  of  the  poison  variety,  whereby 
he  was  poisoned,  and  his  body  swelled  to  a  great 
degree.  He  would  not  allow  a  physician  to  be 
near  him  ;  nor  would  he  receive  the  most  simple 
medicines.  Just  before  he  expired,  when  in  great 
pain,  he  seemed  desirous  of  some  help,  but  the 
Brethren  and  Sisters  would  not  allow  it,  lest  he 
deny  the  faith. 

I  confess  I  was  exceedingly  displeased  with  my- 
self that  on  our  visit  to  our  Rogerine  brethren  I 
had  not  spoken  more  strongly  against  their  per- 
nicious doctrine  of  the  utter  reliance  on  their  so- 
called  scriptural  healing,  for  I  doubt  not  the  phy- 
sicians could  have  saved  Brother  Bolles,  even  though 
ivy  poison  yields  not  easily  to  herbs  or  salts. 

When  we  made  known  to  our  Rogerine  friends 
our  determination  to  depart  for  Ephrata,  they  in- 
sisted on  paying  our  passage  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  when  the  day  at  last  arrived  in  which 
we  were  to  leave  this  "fruitful  garden  of  God,"  as 
it  is  referred  to  in  our  records,  our  departure  was 


1 86  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

made  a  gala  day  in  their  little  seaport,  into  which 
we  had  made  so  unpropitious  an  entrance.  A  large 
concourse  of  persons,  irrespective  of  denomina- 
tions, including  many  souls  converted  by  us  during 
our  stay,  accompanied  us  to  the  wharf,  and  after 
pressing  upon  us  numerous  gifts — so  that  we  re- 
turned home  richer  than  when  we  left — wished  us 
a  loving  God-speed. 

As  our  vessel  passed  out  into  the  sound,  even 
though  we  were  returning  to  our  beloved  Kloster, 
we  could  not  wholly  subdue  our  sadness  at  parting 
with  these  dear  friends,  who  so  long  as  we  were 
in  sight  wafted  their  blessings  to  us.  I  think 
none  of  us  even  spake  a  word  so  long  as  we  could 
discern  our  friends ;  but  favorable  winds  soon 
swept  us  from  their  view,  and  then  as  we  turned 
to  each  other  again  each  of  us,  even  Sonnlein,  ex- 
pressed his  sorrow  in  a  deep  sigh. 

With  the  exception  that  Brother  Onesimus,  who 
was  but  a  poor  waterman,  was  seasick  again  all 
the  voyage,  nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred  until 
we  set  foot  in  the  chiefest  city  of  the  province  of 
New  York,  where  our  monastic  garb  again  at- 
tracted much  attention  and  suspicion,  so  that  we 
were  arrested  as  Jesuits  from  New  Spain  ;  and 
again  a  kind  gentleman,  a  justice,  knowing  our 
circumstances,  interceded  so  effectually  we  were 
promptly  released,  whereupon  we  shook  the  dust 
of  that   city  from  off  our  feet   and  immediately 


IN    A   STRANGE    LAND  1 87 

started  on  our  long  journey  for  Ephrata,  by  way 
of  Philadelphia,  and  it  was  not  long  when  we  were 
at  New  Brunswick  again,  whence  we  journeyed  by 
foot  to  Trenton,  where  we  crossed  the  Delaware 
and  soon  were  in  our  own  Philadelphia,  among 
dear  friends.  Here  we  stopped  for  a  few  days 
with  our  Brother  William  Young,  to  rest  before 
continuing  our  journey  to  Ephrata,  which  still  lay 
ninety  miles  to  the  west,  only  that  Sonnlein,  with 
his  ceaseless  activity  and  insatiate  boyish  inquisi- 
tiveness,  gave  himself  no  rest  whatever,  but  must 
be  continually  about  this  great  city,  especially  at 
the  wharves,  where  the  incoming  vessels,  with  their 
cargoes  from  all  lands  under  the  sun,  were  to  him 
a  perpetual  wonder. 

Our  rest  in  this  great,  noisy,  worldly  city  being 
at  an  end,  for  which  I  was  not  sorry,  though  our 
brother  did  all  he  could  for  our  comfort  and  enter- 
tainment, we  set  out  over  the  king's  highway  for 
Lancaster,  whence  we  intended  to  reach  Ephrata 
by  way  of  the  Reading  road,  for  the  season  being 
now  late  we  could  not  risk  the  less  traveled  ways, 
for  even  the  best  highways  were  now  in  a  diffi- 
cult condition.  Sonnlein,  however,  being  by  this 
time  such  a  veteran  pilgrim,  seemed  not  to  mind 
what  to  our  prior,  and  Brother  Jephune  particu- 
larly, was  a  most  tiresome  journey,  our  worthy 
sky-gazing  brother  floundering  into  every  muddy 
bog  in  our  way. 


1 88  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

When  we  reached  Lancaster  we  were,  with  all 
our  endurance,  so  worn  out  we  were  necessitated 
to  make  another  brief  stop,  but  as  soon  as  our 
bodies  would  obey  our  wills  in  any  wise  cheerfully, 
we  started  again  for  Ephrata,  arriving  weary  and 
footsore  within  sight  of  Mount  Sinai  just  as  the 
sun  was  setting  behind  the  hills.  Falling  on  our 
knees  we  offered  up  to  our  Father  our  heartfelt 
thanks  for  our  safe  return,  for  indeed  it  was  much 
to  be  thankful  for  that  after  our  long  wanderings 
we  all  had  been  brought  back  as  safe  and  well, 
albeit  a  trifle  weary  and  worn,  as  when  we  had 
started  on  our  pilgrimage. 

A  little  farther  on  we  made  a  short  stop  with 
one  of  the  house-fathers,  as  the  brethren  of  our 
secular  congregation  were  called,  intending  to  time 
ourselves  to  arrive  at  Zion  for  the  midnight  devo- 
tions, once  more  to  be  enraptured  by  the  strains 
of  celestial  music  from  the  lips  of  our  beloved 
brothers  and  sisters. 

Our  good  house-father  and  his  family  were 
minded  to  make  a  great  ado  about  our  gaunt  and 
haggard  features,  as  though  we  had  passed  through 
great  tribulations  little  less  than  martyrdom,  all 
of  which  sympathy,  though  we  liked  not  to  confess 
it,  was  sweeter  to  our  ears  than  even  the  voices 
of  our  choiring  Brothers  and  Sisters,  only  I  could 
not  see  how  Sonnlein  merited  any  great  compas- 
sion, for  the  rogue,  though  he  fared  like  the  rest 


IN    A   STRANGE    LAND  1 89 

of  us,  looked  as  ruddy  and  healthy  as  any  of  our 
good  house-father's  chubby,  rosy  children  who 
swarmed  about  us  inquiringly,  not  fearing  us  in 
the  least,  which  thing  pleased  us  greatly,  for  we 
did  not  like  to  be  dreaded  by  the  little  ones. 

When  we  thought  it  time  to  leave  for  the  mid- 
night services,  our  brother's  little  ones  being  long 
before  with  all  their  unquenched  curiosity  packed 
to  bed,  we  started,  as  usual,  in  single  file  for  the 
Kloster,  Sonnlein  lagging  a  few  steps  behind  me. 

We  had  almost  reached  the  Kloster  confines 
when,  while  our  way  was  yet  under  the  dark 
shadows  of  the  overhanging  trees  that  shut  out 
the  stars,  I  heard  a  scuffling  noise  behind  me,  and 
turning  quickly  saw  Sonnlein  in  the  grasp  of  some 
dark  shape  that  was  striving  against  all  his  squirm- 
ing and  fighting  to  drag  him  into  the  thick  woods. 
Without  a  thought  I  hurled  my  pilgrim  staff,  with 
all  my  strength,  lance-like  into  the  bushes  'gainst 
the  beast  or  being  hanging  over  my  boy,  and  then 
for  a  moment  closed  my  eyes  with  an  awful  fear 
my  staff  might  crush  him  ;  but  it  had  hardly  left 
my  hand  when  a  piercing  cry  of  agony  cleft  the 
air,  and  then,  retreating  from  us,  came  fainter  and 
fainter  a  moaning  and  snarling  as  when  some 
desperate  beast  receives  a  mortal  wound. 

We  found  Sonnlein  lying  limp  and  almost  life- 
less by  the  way,  and  as  we  gathered  about  him 
and  one  of  us  struck  a  light  from  our  tinder  box, 


190  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

I  saw  my  boy's  throat  was  scratched  and  torn  and 
bleeding,  but  happily  not  profusely. 

"  'Twas  such  a  devil's  cry  we  heard  when 
we  saw  the  comet,  dost  remember  ? "  whispered 
Brother  Jephune  hoarsely,  for  the  matter  had 
startled  us  greatly. 

"  What  wast,  Sonnlein  ? "  I  asked  him  now  that 
he  had  come  somewhat  to  his  senses  and  was  on 
his  feet,  for  beyond  the  choking  and  fright  he 
seemed  not  much  hurt. 

"  'Twas  some  beast  with  great  claws  caught  me 
by  the  throat  so  I  could  not  cry  for  help,"  he 
replied  all  in  a  quiver. 

"  Well,  it  hath  gone  now ;  no  doubt  my  staff 
struck  it  right  fairly.  Get  on  my  back  while  I 
carry  thee ;  we  must  make  haste  else  shall  we  be 
late,"  said  I,  first  marking  the  spot  with  my  eyes 
where  I  had  hurled  my  staff. 

Great  was  the  surprise  of  our  dear  brothers 
when  we  filed  silently  into  the  Saal,  Sonnlein 
having  come  down  from  my  back,  for  we  arrived 
wholly  unannounced.  After  the  loving  greetings 
were  exchanged  over  and  over,  our  superintendent 
ordered  a  general  love  feast  in  Peniel  for  the  fol- 
lowing Sabbath  to  celebrate  our  safe  return  and 
to  listen  to  our  report,  we  having  kept  an  exact 
diary  of  our  pilgrimage.  A  full  account  of  the 
whole  journey  was  written  from  this  diary  and  the 
doings  of  each  of  us,  except  Sonnlein,  which  he 


IN    A    STRANGE    LAND  191 

minded  not  in  the  least,  being  too  young  for  such 
older  weakness.  This  account  was  then  handed 
over  to  our  superintendent  and  became  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Brotherhood. 

After  the  events  of  this  pilgrimage  were  over, 
we  each  resumed  his  usual  work  and  devotions  as 
calmly  as  though  we  had  not  been  so  long  away, 
only  that  the  day  after  we  arrived  I  easily  found 
the  bushes  into  which  I  had  with  such  unchristian 
violence  hurled  my  staff.  I  found  my  traveling 
comrade  lying  full  length  in  the  depths  of  the 
wayside  thicket.  The  iron  point  was  reddish  like 
as  if  with  blood,  but  I  could  find  no  ghastly  trail 
of  blood  leading  away  from  the  staff,  but  after 
close  examination  of  the  soft  earth  I  did  find  what 
I  believed  were  the  prints  of  a  woman's  shoes,  for 
I  knew  they  were  not  those  made  by  Sonnlein. 

Could  it  be  that  our  old  enemy,  the  witch,  had 
done  this  thing?  Who  or  what  was  this  baleful 
influence  that  hung  over  our  sacred  Kloster  like 
some  foul  miasma?  Did  this  being  merely  em- 
body the  evil  that  must  ever  be  present  in  all 
earthly  things?  Whence  came  it?  No  matter 
how  I  turned  it  over  and  over  in  my  mind  I  could 
not  solve  the  mystery.  So  far,  though  our  paths 
had  frequently  come  close  to  the  other,  they  had 
not  yet  crossed  in  direct  conflict,  and  yet  I  felt, 
and  even  longed,  that  some  day  I  should  come  face 
to  face  with  the  sphinx  and  either  she  or  I  be 


192  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

destroyed.  There  had  never  seemed  any  dispo- 
sition to  seek  direct  injury  to  me,  and  yet  of  all 
our  Brotherhood  I  apparently  was  chosen  to  wit- 
ness most  of  her  hellish  manifestations.  Why  ? 
I  could  not  tell,  for  surely  I  knew  not  I  had  ever 
wittingly  injured  any  one. 

So  weighted  down  was  I  by  my  unexplainable 
dread  that  for  many  a  day  I  had  little  inclination 
for  work  or  study  or  prayer.  I  could  see  too,  that 
Sonnlein,  though  he  and  the  rest  knew  naught  but 
a  wild  beast  had  flown  at  him,  was  greatly  im- 
pressed when  I  warned  him  he  must  not  wander 
into  the  woods  until  he  was  older  and  abler  to 
take  care  of  himself  against  the  beasts,  which 
warning,  it  eased  my  mind  much  to  observe,  he 
heeded  as  well  as  a  strong,  healthy  boy  can  heed 
anything. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SONNLEIN    COMETH    TO    MAN'S    ESTATE 

For  the  Lord  hath  created  a  new  thing  in  the  earth,  a 
woman  shall  compass  a  man. 

—Bible. 


ANY  were  the  changes 
that  came  over  our  lit- 
1 1  e  community  while 
my  boy  was  growing 
into  a  man  ! 

It  was  not  long  after 
the  Solitary  had  united 
themselves  at  Ephrata 
that  the  Eckerlings  con- 
ceived    various    enter- 
terprises  whereby  our  cells  should  be  filled  with 
what  to  so  many  weak  mortals  is  as  precious  as 
honey  to  the  bees,  namely,  money. 

In  our  early  life*  our  chief  labor  was  the  tilling 
of  the  soil,  for  which  we  had  by  reason  of  our 
scanty  means  and  our  own  peculiar  views  the  most 
primitive  methods,  so  that  we  not  only  dragged 
the  plow  but  even  drew  our  carts,  and  oft  when 
we  traveled  we  resembled  a  caravan  of  camels,  so 

o  193 


194  A   TALE   OF    THE    KLOSTER 

heavily  laden  were  we.  I  can  still  see  when  the 
plowing  came  to  be  done  the  whole  Brotherhood 
trooping  around  the  hill  of  Zion.  Under  the 
Eckerlings,  however,  we  consented  to  the  use  of 
beasts  of  burden  for  our  heavy  work;  but  in 
reparation  of  what  many  of  us  considered  an  un- 
just use  of  these  animals  we  treated  them  with 
exceeding  kindness. 

Our  first  industry  under  the  Eckerlings  was  the 
building  of  a  bakehouse,  which  we  used  not  only 
for  our  own  modest  requirements  but  even  in  the 
interests  of  the  poor  settlers,  no  charge  being 
made  whatever  for  the  bread  or  the  baking. 

Another  movement  looking  toward  our  enrich- 
ment was  the  planting  of  a  large  orchard  of  over 
a  thousand  apple  trees,  as  well  as  a  row  of  fruit 
trees  entirely  surrounding  the  Kloster  grounds. 
The  Eckerlings  also  proposed  to  set  out  a  vine- 
yard on  the  hillside ;  but  this  met  with  such  de- 
termined opposition  the  project  was  abandoned, 
for  we  feared  it  might  lead  to  winebibbing  among 
us,  and  this  we  could  not  have,  as  we  permitted 
the  use  of  fermented  liquors  only  when  actually 
necessary  as  physic. 

Then  came  a  small  grist  mill,  the  first  to  be  put 
up  in  this  region,  which  we  purchased  shortly  after 
the  death  of  Brother  Agonius.  The  mill  we  en- 
tirely rebuilt  in  stone,  increasing  its  capacity  to 
three  run,  and  day  after  day  for  a  number  of  years 


SONNLEIN    COMETH    TO    MAN'S    ESTATE  1 95 

the  splash,  splash  of  the  water  wheel  and  the  rum- 
bling murmur  of  the  mill  stones  were  sweet  music 
in  the  ears  of  the  Eckerlings  and  their  followers. 

Soon  after  came  a  sawmill ;  and  then  what  was, 
perhaps,  more  important  to  us,  the  paper  mill, 
whereby  we  made  not  only  all  the  paper  for  the 
printing  of  our  various  hymns  and  books  and 
pamphlets,  but  also  furnished  much  of  the  paper 
that  was  used  at  this  period  throughout  the  prov- 
ince, our  Brother  Christopher  Sauer  making  fre- 
quent demands  on  us. 

Within  a  few  years  an  oil  mill  was  put  up,  the 
stones  of  which  were  unlike  any  others  in  America. 
This  oil,  like  our  paper,  was  not  only  used  in  our 
printing,  but  was  sent  far  and  wide  for  the  making 
of  printer's  ink.  There  were  looms  for  weaving 
linen  and  cloth,  and  a  mill  where  the  homespun 
made  in  the  community  and  by  the  neighbors  was 
fulled  and  prepared  for  use  ;  and  as  there  was  no 
end  to  the  money-making  projects  of  the  Ecker- 
lings, a  tannery  was  erected,  where  both  tanning 
and  tawing  were  carried  on,  in  the  meadow  a 
short  distance  west  of  where  we  later  built  the 
Brother  House. 

Then  of  necessity,  as  one  evil  deed  ever  re- 
quires its  fellow,  followed  a  mill  for  grinding  the 
oak  and  hemlock  bark.  This  leather,  by  such  as 
were  hostile  to  us,  was  called  in  derision  "  Jesuit 
leather,"  but  the  nickname  did  not  in  the  least 


I96  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTEfc 

injure  the  quality  of  the  leather  or  impair  the 
demand  for  it,  for — and  I  say  it  not  boastfully — 
this  leather,  like  our  paper  and  cloth  and  flour  and 
other  products,  was  all  of  good,  honest  quality, 
and  sought  far  and  wide  for  its  excellence. 

The  Brothers  and  Sisters  thought  more  of  how 
well  they  could  do  that  which  they  were  called 
upon  to  do  than  how  much  they  were  to  receive 
for  it.  Thus  they  ennobled  their  work  and  gave 
dignity  to  their  humble  labors,  all  of  which  hon- 
esty of  work  and  affection  for  it  was  expressed 
in  the  quality  of  the  products  ;  nothing  slipshod, 
nothing  half-finished  in  haste  was  permitted; 
nothing  could  go  forth  from  our  hands  unless 
it  was  as  sound  and  wholesome  and  perfect  as 
our  means  and  skill  could  make  it — and  surely 
there  is  nothing  more  honorable  in  man  than  to 
serve  his  Maker  and  his  children  by  faithful,  hon- 
est, affectionate  toil. 

To  meet  the  demands  of  our  various  industries 
horses  and  wagons  were  procured,  so  that  three 
teams  were  almost  constantly  kept  upon  the  road. 
Agencies  were  established  in  Philadelphia  and  else- 
where for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  our  different 
products  and  material,  and  my  records  show  that 
among  such  agents  were  well-to-do  citizens  of 
Philadelphia,  as  Johannus  Wiister  and  Christopher 
Marshall,  the  former  being  the  same  gentleman 
who  in  later  years  honored  us  by  plucking  from 


SONNLEIN    COMETH    TO    MAN'S    ESTATE  1 97 

our  little  garden  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
Roses  of  Saron,  our  dear  Sister  Anastasia. 

But  as  we  had  a  printing  press  we  must  needs 
have  a  book  bindery,  and  in  a  short  time  we  had 
the  largest  and  best-equipped  bindery  in  the  colo- 
nies, and  I  must  say  in  justice  to  the  Eckerlings, 
that  however  I  disagreed  with  them  in  many  of 
their  various  enterprises,  I  always  felt  we  owed 
them  much  for  establishing  the  printing  press  and 
the  bindery,  for  man  without  books  is  as  a  plant 
without  light. 

Even  the  Sisters  were  not  forgotten,  for  in  addi- 
tion to  the  domestic  duties  that  ever  so  fitly  fall  to 
the  lot  of  woman,  they  were  constantly  engaged 
in  spinning,  besides  assisting  in  the  lighter  work 
of  the  fields.  Many  of  the  Sisters  acquired  great 
skill  in  embroidery  and  in  calligraphy ;  and  hun- 
dreds of  our  hymns,  composed  by  our  superintend- 
ent, the  Sisters,  and  the  Brethren,  were  written  in 
the  beautiful  style  of  the  Sisterhood,  so  that  even 
now  after  the  lapse  of  almost  half  a  century  since 
our  sisters — many  of  them  now  resting  in  their 
narrow  graves  along  the  roadside — placed  their 
love  and  devotion  for  their  Master  in  their  humble 
tasks.  We  greatly  prize  our  hymn  books — the 
notes  and  letters  and  graceful  decorations  coming 
from  our  sisters'  hands  shining  forth  still  in  all 
the  clearness  and  purity  of  their  first  writing. 

In  this  wise  matters  went  on  until  our  Eckerlings 


I98  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

almost  proved  our  undoing,  for  it  gradually  became 
noised  about  that  we  were  nothing  more  than  mer- 
chants, tradespeople  using  our  kloster  life  as  a 
cloak  to  give  us  the  appearance  of  honest,  devout 
people,  caring  naught  for  gain ;  and  there  was 
much  truth  in  what  our  printer  at  Germantown 
published,  that  in  a  short  time  the  ringing  and 
clinking,  tinkling,  clanking,  and  dangling  at  Zion, 
Ephrata,  Kedar,  Peniel,  and  Saron  would  equal 
Rome,  Jerusalem,  Nazareth,  and  Babylon. 

The  only  remedy  for  this  show  and  excessive 
love  of  money  lay  in  the  removal  of  the  Ecker- 
lings.  This  all  the  rest  of  the  Solitary  who  loved 
a  simple  life  knew  must  come  sooner  or  later,  and 
yet  they  dreaded  the  coming.  Wherefore  they 
groaned  heavily  in  spirit  under  the  bondage  of  the 
Eckerlings  for  seven  long  years.  Then,  and  I 
have  not  space  to  relate  how  all  this  came  about, 
were  the  Eckerlings  dethroned,  and  their  lording 
it  over  us  brought  to  a  certain  end. 

On  a  bright  day  in  August  the  Solitary  Brethren 
arranged  in  a  circle  about  a  heap  of  burning  brush 
fed  by  most  willing  hands,  we  consigned  to  the 
glowing  embers  all  the  books  and  writings  of 
Onesimus,  among  them  being  his  polemic  against 
the  Moravians  ;  and  three  days  later  the  Sister- 
hood of  Saron  repeated  a  similar  ceremony,  upon 
which  occasion  two  of  his  German  broadsides  and 
a  pillar  against  the  Moravians  as  well  as  his  hymns 


et 

o 

n 

- 

/. 

- 

to 

" 

— 

Wl 

PL 

~ 

ff 

Pi 

SONNLEIN    COMETH   TO    MAN  S   ESTATE  1 99 

were  consumed  by  the  fire.  And  to  make  sure 
naught  of  contamination  remained  with  us,  on  the 
sixth  day  the  brethren  of  the  Secular  Congrega- 
tion gathered  all  the  writings  and  mementos  of 
Onesimus  and  committed  them  also  to  the  flames. 

Not  many  weeks  later  the  prior  and  his  brother, 
Jephune,  with  Timotheus  and  several  other  follow- 
ers, fled  about  four  hundred  miles  toward  the  setting 
of  the  sun,  until  beyond  all  Christian  government 
they  reached  a  stream  which  runs  toward  the  Mis- 
sissippi, New  River  by  name,  where  they  were 
joined  soon  after  by  the  rest  of  the  Eckerlings. 

With  their  exit  an  immediate  change  took  place. 
The  mills  were  immediately  closed,  and  word  sent 
abroad  that  all  our  agreements  were  cancelled — 
only  we  would  fulfill  our  standing  orders — but  that 
hereafter  no  grain  or  seed  or  logs  or  rags  would 
be  purchased  by  us,  excepting  such  as  would  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  our  own  use.  Our  horses 
and  wagons  and  oxen  were  sold,  and  the  different 
helpers  who  were  not  of  our  belief  discharged,  for 
we  were  determined  that,  as  we  had  come  here  to 
serve  God  and  not  Mammon,  God  we  would  serve. 
But  in  spite  of  our  resolution  such  was  the  excel- 
lence of  the  flour  and  the  wheat  and  the  oil,  and 
the  quality  of  the  paper  and  cardboard  we  had 
made,  that  for  many  years  demands  were  made 
upon  us  repeatedly ;  but  I  rejoice  to  say  no  effort 
was  made  in  all  the  long  after  years  again  to  rein- 


200  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

state  these  things  for  anything  except  our  own 
uses,  and  when  two  years  later  three  of  our  mills 
were  lost  by  fire,  which  certain  malicious  ones  at- 
tributed to  our  superintendent,  and  which  could 
not  be  extinguished  either  by  our  wooden  fire 
charms  or  our  incantations,  not  one  of  us  greatly 
regretted  the  event,  so  far  as  the  loss  of  the  mills 
themselves  were  concerned,  only  that  we  felt  the 
loss  of  the  large  stores  of  wheat  and  other  grain. 
Thus  as  Brother  Lamech  hath  well  said,  "Did 
the  fire,  with  God's  permission,  make  an  end  to 
all  the  mammon  which  the  Eckerlings,  by  their 
flaying,  scraping,  miserly  conduct  had  gathered  in 
the  former  household." 

And  now  I  feel  I  must  turn  again  to  my  Sonn- 
lein,  who  by  this  time  was  a  sturdy  boy  of  about 
thirteen,  and  that  it  may  be  known  from  his  ac- 
tions, instead  of  my  great  love  for  him  what  man- 
ner of  boy  he  was,  I  shall  tell  of  his  first  fight, 
that  is,  the  first  one  I  knew  of ;  and  this  I  can  say 
of  him,  even  though  he  was  not  a  perfect  Example 
of  the  doctrine  of  non-resistance,  he  cared  naught 
for  fighting,  but  suffered  in  silence  many  a  taunt 
and  vile  insult  that  made  the  blood  rush  to  his 
cheeks  ;  for  not  only  did  the  neighbors'  children 
— learning  this  from  their  idle-tongued  parents — 
call  him  a  "  nobody's  child " — for  as  he  grew 
older  he  soon  found  there  were  ever  ready  ones  to 
poison  his  happiness  by  telling  him  of  his  unknown 


SONNLEIN    COMETH    TO    MANS    ESTATE  201 

parentage — but  the  elders  themselves  oft  nick- 
named him  "  Brother  Jabez'  chicken,"  for  that 
he  was  always  under  my  wing. 

But  one  hot  day  in  summer — and  I  take  an  un- 
holy pleasure  in  writing  this — Sonnlein  and  a  lot 
of  other  boys  and  girls,  were  paddling  bare-legged 
in  the  cool  waters  of  the  Cocalico,  nigh  the  turn- 
pike ford,  filling  the  air  with  their  thoughtless 
shrieks  and  laughter,  so  that  the  quiet-loving 
Brothers  and  Sisters  were  sorely  tried  in  patience. 
Suddenly  the  harmless  shrieks  and  laughter  rose 
into  a  tremendous  uproar,  and  so  unusual  was  this 
tumult  to  mine  ears  I  started  hurriedly  for  the  ford, 
fearing  some  awful  calamity  had  befallen  the  chil- 
dren. As  I  came  nigh  I  saw  a  lot  of  boys  of  all 
ages  and  sizes — so  I  wondered  where  they  all  came 
from — gathered  in  a  struggling,  yelling  mass  in 
the  meadow  along  the  creek,  a  fringe  of  fright- 
ened, white-faced  little  girls  in  the  background — 
each  boy,  large  and  small,  with  might  and  main 
pressing  forward  toward  the  center  of  the  howling 
little  maniacs  as  if  something  of  great  moment 
were  proceeding  there.  And  indeed  there  was,  for 
I  was  almost  on  them  before  they  saw  me  or 
heard  me  call  out  sternly,  "  What  meaneth  all  this 
noise  ?  "  When  they  did  hear  me  and  see  my  form 
hanging  over  them  like  some  great  thunder  cloud 
they  fled  quickly,  only  that  some  from  a  distance 
in  derision  of  my  tonsure  cried  out  at  me,  "Alter 


202  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Blatkopf"  (old  balclhead),  so  that  like  Elisha  I 
wished  the  bears  to  eat  them  up. 

All  but  two  had  fled,  and  they  were  rolling 
about  in  the  grass,  now  one  on  top  and  then  the 
other,  then  to  their  feet,  striking,  clawing,  and 
scratching  like  nothing  so  much  as  two  angry 
cats ;  but  suddenly  the  smaller  but  more  active 
one,  who  seemed  to  me  strangely  like  Sonnlein, 
delivered  a  marvelously  directed  blow  full  upon 
the  upturned  nose  of  the  other,  bringing  forth  a 
goodly  stream  of  rich,  red  blood,  whereupon  the 
bleeding  one  put  across  the  meadows,  his  hand  to 
his  face,  bawling  at  the  top  of  his  lungs,  the  vic- 
torious gladiator  following  a  short  distance  and 
crying  after  the  vanquished,  "  Dost  want  some 
more  of  '  Brother  Jabez'  chicken  '  ? "  and  then 
horrors  upon  horrors,  I  saw  through  all  the  mud 
and  dirt  and  disordered  hair,  and  the  fierce,  dis- 
torted features,  'twas  my  boy  Sonnlein  ! 

He  saw  me  about  the  same  time,  and  then  the 
angry  face  fell  into  one  of  shame  as  I  called 
to  him,  "Come  hither!"  He  came  obediently 
enough,  saying  nothing;  but  the  wild  passion  of 
conflict  could  not  die  out  at  once,  and  as  he  stood 
there,  digging  his  toes  into  the  earth  and  casting 
sullen,  rebellious  glances  at  me,  such  as  I  had 
never  received  from  him,  and  sorely  they  wounded 
me,  he  blurted  out,  "  He  began  V 

"  Have  I  not  often  told  thee,"  I  demanded,  as 


SON N LEI N    COMETH    TO    MAN  S    ESTATE  203 

much  in  sorrow  as  in  anger,  "  thou  must  not 
fight?  Would  couldst  see  thyself  now  to  know 
how  much  like  the  beasts  we  become  when  we 
stoop  to  fight  and  tear  each  other  asunder." 

Still  he  said,  but  less  defiantly,  "  He  began  't, 
I  tell  thee." 

"  Art  thou  not  sorry  for  breaking  his  nose  ? " 
I  asked. 

"  Nay,  he  began  't ;  I  had  to  fight.  He  hath 
been  calling  me  names  and  trying  to  stir  up  a 
quarrel.     Now  he  hath  what  he  looked  for." 

"  Couldst  thou  not  have  left  him  ?  Thou  hast 
legs  to  carry  thee,"  I  reminded  him. 

But  he  only  replied  more  firmly,  "  I'm  glad  I 
beat  him,  and  that  right  well.  He  will  trouble 
me  no  more." 

And  then  as  I  took  him  by  the  hand  and  we 
were  about  to  go  to  our  cells  I  noticed  within  a 
few  steps  one  of  the  little  girls  who  had  formed 
part  of  the  frightened  group  in  the  background. 
She  seemed  about  my  boy's  age,  perhaps  a  trifle 
younger,  with  such  deep  blue  eyes  and  long  yellow 
hair,  I  thought  of  our  Sister  Bernice,  only  that 
our  poor  sister  was  never  so  rosy-cheeked  and 
strong  looking  as  this  pretty  little  maid  standing 
timidly  nigh,  and  finally  bursting  into  a  plaintive 
appeal,  "  Don't  whip  him,  Brother  Jabez,  it  was 
Johann's  own  fault."  Johann  I  suppose  being  the 
name  of  the  still  fleeing  one. 


204  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"And  why  should  I  not  punish  Sonnlein  for 
fighting,  my  little  sister  ?  "  I  asked  gently. 

"  Because,"  she  replied  falteringly,  and  I  could 
see  her  face  was  red  as  fire. 

"  *  Because '  may  be  reason  sufficient  for  little 
girls,  but  not  for  big  men,"  I  replied  still  gently. 

"  Johann  called  him  names,"  she  rejoined. 

"  But  surely  hard  names  break  no  bones.  If  we 
fought  whenever  we  heard  ill  of  ourselves  we 
should  have  little  time  for  else  than  fighting.  Now 
tell  me  truly  why  did  they  fight  ? " 

And  then  I  felt  Sonnlein  tugging  at  my  hand  and 
looking  up  at  me  more  shamefaced  than  ever  as  he 
cried  out,  "  Let  us  go,  Vaterchen,  I  told  thee  why  we 
fought,"  all  the  while  frowning  at  our  little  sister 
as  though  warning  her  not  to  say  anything. 

I  am  not  overly  inquisitive,  but  now  I  was  re- 
solved to  know  all,  so  I  said  to  her  sternly,  "  My 
little  sister,  tell  me  the  truth,"  and  then  more  ten- 
derly I  said,  "  thou  knowest  Brother  Jabez  would 
not  hurt  thee  or  Sonnlein — not  overmuch."  Upon 
which  great  assurance  she  spake  up  as  bravely  as 
she  could  between  the  sobs  that  would  not  keep 
back,  "  Johann  said  I  must  be  his  wife  when  I  was 
grown  up,  and  Sonnlein  said  I  was  to  be  his  wife, 
and — and — I — I — said  so  too." 

"Well,  what  then  ? "  I  asked  between  stern  sur- 
prise and  tenderness  as  she  wiped  the  tears  from 
her  eyes. 


SONNLEIN    COMETH    TO    MAN  S    ESTATE  20$ 

"  Why,  then  we  will  keep  house  together,"  she 
replied  innocently. 

"  I  meant  not  what  ye  were  going  to  do.  I 
meant  what  did  Johann  do  after  thou  didst  promise 
thyself  to  Sonnlein  ?  " 

"  Why  Johann  called  Sonnlein  bad  names  and 
struck  me  in  the  face  and  Sonnlein  hit  him."  And 
then  she  said  with  such  proud  defiance  I  was 
greatly  shocked,  "  Sonnlein  licked  him." 

"And  so  ye  two  are  to  be  man  and  wife  when 
ye  are  grown  up  ?  What  is  thy  name  ?  "  I  asked 
turning  to  the  little  shrew. 

"Mary." 

"Well,"  and  I  spake  out  strongly,  "let  me  not 
hear  of  this  again,  else  will  I  tell  thy  parents, 
Mary ;  and  as  for  thee,  Sonnlein,  if  I  hear  aught  of 
this  man  and  wife  wickedness  again  thou  shalt 
have  opportunity  to  celebrate  thy  first  whipping.53 
Thus  did  I  threaten  in  my  unwisdom  these  poor, 
innocent  children. 

"  Ye  do  promise  ye  will  never  again  speak  to 
each  other  such  nonsense  ?  " 

Whereat  they  both  promised  so  willingly  they 
would  not  that  I  greatly  doubted  the  promise 
would  stand  any  great  strain. 

As  Sonnlein  and  I  turned  back  again  to  the 
Kloster,  leaving  Mary  to  find  her  way  home  with- 
out the  protection  of  her  young  knight,  he  looked 
up  at  me  innocently  and  asked  as  sweetly  as  though 


206  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

he  had  never  known  such  fierce  feeling  as  fight- 
ing, "  Wast  never  in  love,  Vaterchen  ?  " 

I  was  about  to  reply  with  unwonted  crossness, 
"What  is't  to  thee,"  but  just  then  I  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  mound,  not  more  than  a  stone's 
throw  to  our  right,  beneath  which  lay  our  Bernice, 
so  I  merely  remained  quiet  and  answered  not  at 
all,  only  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  even  Eccle- 
siastes  sayeth  there  is  a  time  for  love  and  a  time 
for  war,  and  though  Sonnlein  was  rather  young  for 
me  to  predict  what  his  manhood  would  be,  it  will 
be  seen  that  my  fond  hopes  were  none  of  the 
brightest  for  making  him  a  gentle,  peaceful  celibate. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


WHEN    HEARTS    ARE    YOUNG 


Come,  Corinna,  let  me  kiss  thee  ! 

Come,  my  dearest,  to  me  here  ! 

I  would  know  why  joy  should  miss  thee, 

I  would  have  thine  answer  clear. 

Smiling  sweetly  said  she,  "No," 

Then  demurely  yielded  so. 

— Francis  Daniel  Pastorius  (of  Germa?itown). 

OW  the  years  slipped  by ! 
Twenty  years  ago  my 
Sonnlein  had  come  to 
me  a  little  toddler.  Now 
he  was  a  tall  youth — 
even  taller  than  I — 
strong  and  straight  as 
the  pine  under  which  I 
found  him  ;  full  of  health- 
ful animal  spirits  that 
sometimes  in  their  ex- 
uberance give  me  vague  fears  as  to  what  his  active, 
enthusiastic  nature  might  lead  him  to.  Thus  far 
he  had  done  naught  to  shake  my  confidence  in  him. 
He  was  a  constant  solace  to  me.  Brother  Obed, 
with   unwearying    patience    for    SonnlehVs    lively 

207 


208  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

ways,  was  exceedingly  proud  of  his  acquirements, 
for  between  Brother  Obed  and  me  Sonnlein  had 
not  only  learned  to  speak  our  mother  tongue  like 
one  of  us,  but  even  in  Latin  and  Greek  he  was 
no  indifferent  scholar.  We  had  also  taught  him 
the  arts  of  rhetoric  and  logic  and  mathematics,  and 
had  versed  him  in  literature  and  history,  poetry 
and  music. 

But  above  all  mathematics,  history,  language, 
and  literature,  Brother  Obed  and  I  had  taught 
Sonnlein  what  we  knew  and  what  we  could  teach 
him  to  find  out  for  himself  about  this  world  of 
ours,  this  delightful  book  of  nature  our  Creator 
gave  us  to  read  and  search  with  no  less  diligence 
than  his  written  word,  and  so  the  moon  and  the 
stars  by  night,  the  sun  by  day,  the  ever-recurring 
seasons,  calm  and  tempest,  the  sparkling  streams, 
waving  trees,  the  sweet  and  lovely  flowers,  the 
creatures  that  fill  God's  earth,  man,  bird,  and  beast 
— all  these  were  taught  so  that  our  boy  understood 
them  as  so  many  manifestations  of  his  power  and 
beauty  and  love  and  tenderness  for  us  who  were 
created  in  his  image.  And  that  our  boy  might  have 
the  best  of  all  guides  for  the  interpretation  of  this 
visible  life  and  the  unseen  world  beyond  the  gates 
of  death,  we  taught  him  gently  but  persistently 
God's  holy  word,  for  in  our  simple  view  of  life  it 
seemed  a  great  shame  that  one  should  know  all 
about  the  kings  and  princes  of  this  fleeting  earth 


WHEN    HEARTS    ARE   YOUNG  209 

but  know  naught  of  the  Prince  of  princes  and  the 
King  of  kings.  Thus  our  boy,  we  fondly  trusted, 
was  prepared  to  fill  any  place  in  this  world  accord- 
ing to  his  gifts,  happily  for  himself  and  others. 

But  I  dare  not  pretend  that  he  was  a  youthful 
saint,  for  frequently  to  my  poorly  concealed  amuse- 
ment and  the  evident  chagrin  of  our  superintend- 
ent, Sonnlein  often  put  the  former  to  utter  rout  in 
the  discussion  of  some  of  his  finespun  interpreta- 
tions of  holy  writ.  Indeed,  I  fear  there  was  no 
love  lost  between  our  estimable  leader  and  my  boy, 
for  Sonnlein  had  that  inexorable  logic,  that  sure 
keenness  of  mind  that  pierces  a  sophistry  as  a 
skillful  archer  wings  his  arrow  to  the  center  of  the 
mark.  At  times  Sonnlein's  apparent  want  of  rev- 
erence, his  seeming  irreligion,  his  lack  of  deference 
for  Brother  Beissel's  peculiar  views,  threatened  to 
disrupt  the  brotherly  relations  that  ever  existed 
between  our  superintendent  and  me,  his  associate ; 
for  with  all  his  sternness,  his  austerity,  his  unbend- 
ing will  and  ambition,  I  recognized  that  our  leader 
was  no  ordinary  man,  and  while  not  a  scholar  he 
was  a  man  of  great  and  many  talents — all  in  all, 
just  the  one  to  hold  together  our  little  community. 

The  trouble  was  that  while  Sonnlein  had  much 
of  the  sweet  reasonableness  and  charity  that  comes 
from  the  study  and  contemplation  of  the  human- 
ities, he  added  to  his  poetic,  philosophical  tem- 
perament the  energy  and  will  that  mark  the  man 


210  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

of  action.  An  ardent,  impetuous,  positive  nature 
like  his  was  bound  to  clash  with  one  like  the 
superintendent's,  and  more  than  once  it  called 
forth  all  my  wits  to  prevent  actual  rupture  between 
the  two,  which  would  have  scandalized  us  sorely. 
Thus  it  was  that  while  I  frequently  reproached 
Sonnlein  for  his  irreverence  for  Brother  Beissel, 
I  just  as  often  placated  the  latter  by  pleading  Sonn- 
lein's  youth  and  inexperience. 

I  recall  especially  one  occasion  when  our  leader 
had  delivered  a  long  discourse  on  one  of  his  pet 
theories,  that  in  heaven  we  should  have  the  same 
occupations  we  had  followed  here.  Sonnlein's 
brief  comment,  so  it  was  brought  to  mine  ears, 
was  he  pitied  grave-diggers  and  the  like  if  that 
was  all  the  reward  they  were  to  receive.  In  our 
Kloster  there  were  tattlers  and  talebearers,  just  as  in 
more  worldly  places,  and  our  leader  hearing  of  the 
thing,  which  I  knew  Sonnlein  had  said  more  in  jest 
than  in  disrespect,  came  to  me  in  high  dudgeon  and 
demanded  Sonnlein  make  open  apology  before  all 
the  Brotherhood.  This  I  knew  full  well  Sonnlein 
would  not  do  and  I  besought  our  worthy  leader 
to  overlook  the  matter  and  forgive  him.  I  shall 
never  forget  how  he  almost  yelled  at  me,  his  small 
frame  quivering  with  righteous  indignation  be- 
neath my  towering  stature.  "  Forgive  him !  So 
sayest  thou  ever.  I  verily  believe  thou  couldst 
forgive  the  devil !  " 


WHEN    HEARTS   ARE   YOUNG  211 

"  In  truth,  dear  brother,  I  oft  have  done  so,"  I 
replied,  smiling  quietly  and  looking  down  into  his 
angry  eyes  meaningly. 

He  straightened  up  and,  as  he  walked  savagely 
away,  delivered  this  parting  shot :  "  No  doubt ; 
thou  hast  had  abundant  opportunity  in  thy  precious 
Sonnlein  ! " 

It  was  my  turn  to  flush  now,  but  happily  I  con- 
trolled myself  and  said  nothing,  consoling  myself 
with  the  reflection  that  our  superintendent's  witty 
retort  would  go  far  to  appease  his  indignation  and 
that  by  the  morrow  he  would  greet  me  with  his 
accustomed  affection  and  good-will,  for  in  order  to 
make  others  love  us  it  is  only  necessary  to  make 
them  love  themselves,  and  many  a  rascal  by  this 
knowledge  hath  overcome  many  a  wise  man. 

That  night  I  spake  to  Sonnlein  kindly  but 
firmly,  reminding  him  how  poorly  it  accorded  with 
his  manhood's  estate  to  indulge  in  such  levity ; 
that  even  if  he  could  not  always  agree  with  the 
hair-splitting  speculations  of  our  worthy  superin- 
tendent, it  were  surely  wiser  to  hold  one's  tongue 
lest  that  unruly  member  poison  all  our  peace. 

"  But,"  replied  he  gently,  as  was  ever  his  way 
toward  me,  "  Vaterchen,  Brother  Beissel  hath 
something  about  him  that  everything  he  says  and 
does  irritates  me.  It  passeth  my  understanding 
why  he  alone  of  all  our  Brothers  and  Sisters  so 
affects  me.     I  sometimes  fear  I  hate  him  and  that 


212  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

he  returns  the  same  feeling,  yet  I  know  not  that 
he  hath  ever  harmed  me.  I  promise  thee  to  curb 
this  tongue  of  mine.  Good  night,  Vaterchen ; 
schlafen  Sie  wo/i/,"  and  so  saying  he  went  meekly 
to  his  Kammer,  from  whence  I  could  soon  tell  by 
his  deep,  regular  breathing  what  I  had  said  was 
not  greatly  disturbing  his  sleep. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  being 
now  in  the  wane  of  what  we  have  since  learned  to 
call  the  "Indian  summer,"  I  was  wandering,  some- 
what aimlessly  I  confess,  along  the  borders  of  the 
Sisters'  close,  when  suddenly,  on  lifting  mine  eyes 
from  the  earth,  I  perceived  one  of  the  Sisterhood 
directly  in  my  pathway,  but  a  short  distance  ahead, 
sitting  quietly  on  a  projecting  root,  which,  spring- 
ing from  the  base  of  a  towering  chestnut  tree, 
formed  a  comfortable  seat. 

She  had  not  observed  me,  I  felt  sure,  and  think- 
ing not  to  disturb  her  meditations,  for  I  doubted 
not  she  was  rapt  in  contemplation  of  the  heavenly 
Bridegroom,  I  stepped  quietly  aside  into  the  cover 
of  a  near-by  thicket.  I  hardly  had  done  so  when, 
not  far  beyond  the  Sister,  a  rich,  deep  voice  rang 
out  in  an  old  German  hunting  song : 

"Out  into  the  woods  three  hunters  went, 
On  the  white  deer's  chase  their  wishes  Dent." 

From  my  hiding-place  I  saw  the  form  at  the  foot 
of  the  tree  sit  more  erect  in  listening  posture,  and 


WHEN    HEARTS   ARE   YOUNG  213 

as  the  face  was  uplifted,  the  fair  features  of  Sister 
Genoveva  met  my  gaze,  such  a  pensive  wistfulness 
and  tenderness  informing  every  feature  of  the 
lovely  face  turned  unwittingly  toward  me,  I  some- 
how thought  of  my  Bernice,  who  so  soon  was  called 
to  her  celestial  Bridegroom. 

Again  the  fine,  strong  voice  rang  out,  still 
nearer : 

"Down  under  the  fir-trees'  shade  they  lay, 
The  same  strange  dream  came  to  each  that  day. 

"THE  FIRST. 

"  'I  dreamt  I  beat  on  a  sheltering  bush, 

From  out  its  fold  sprang  the  deer,  husch,  husch  !  *  *  * 

And  now  I  caught  occasional  glimpses  of  the 
gray  fox-skin  hunter's  cap  Sonnlein  wore  when  on 
the  chase,  for  I  had  recognized  his  voice  full  well. 
Some  one  else  too  seemed  to  know,  for  I  could  not 
help  seeing,  e'en  though  I  never  have  known  much 
of  the  signs  and  symptoms  of  love,  that  Sister 
Genoveva's  pensiveness  had  given  way  to  a  gentle 
smile  that  brought  an  added  charm  to  the  won- 
derful loveliness  of  the  most  beautiful  woman  I 
have  ever  seen. 

Still  nearer  came  the  trumpet  tones  : 

"THE  SECOND. 

' '  '  And  as  he  sprang  from  the  hound' s  hoarse  laugh, 
I  branded  him  deep  on  the  hide,  pirT,  paff !'  " 


214  A   TALE   0F   THE    KLOSTER 

Where  had  the  scamp  learned  to  sing  with  such 
faithfulness  to  the  sense  ?  I  heard  plainly  the 
"hound's  hoarse  laugh,"  the  "piff,  paff !  "  And 
again  I  wondered  where  he  had  learned  to  sing  so 
true.  Surely  not  from  our  leader;  no  JEolian 
harp  about  these  manly,  resounding  notes  : 

"THE   THIRD. 

"  'And  as  on  the  earth  him  slain  I  saw, 
Lustily  into  the  horn  I  blew,  trara  !'  " 

That  "trara,"  like  the  blast  of  a  hunting  horn, 
transported  me  to  my  boyhood  days  in  the  Vater- 
land,  where  often  I  had  heard  the  huntsmen  call  to 
each  other  in  the  thick  forests  and  mountain  glens. 

And  then  mockingly  came  the  stanza : 

"  So  there  they  lay  and  bragged  these  three — 
And  there,  ran  by  them  the  white  deer — free  !" 

Surely  the  light-hearted  boy,  for  boy  he  always 
has  been  to  me,  was  meant  for  a  minnesinger. 

And  now  he  was  so  nigh  only  a  thin  wall  of 
brush  separated  him,  all  unconscious,  from  Sister 
Genoveva  and  me,  as  she  sat  in  the  little  clearing 
at  the  foot  of  the  tree.  Her  eyes  were  now  spar- 
kling with  merriment ;  delicate  dimples  of  mirthful- 
ness  played  hide  and  seek  over  chin  and  cheeks, 
despite  the  dignified  efforts  to  maintain  a  sober 
mien  as  became  one  of  the  holy  Sisterhood.    Surely 


WHEN    HEARTS    ARE   YOUNG  21  5 

she  was  thinking  of  the  surprise  in  store  for  him 
when  he  should  burst  the  bushy  barriers — and  see 
her.  It  seemed  to  me  she  might  have  left  the 
spot,  for  certain  it  was  there  was  no  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity. Once,  in  faith,  I  was  about  to  call  to  her 
sternly,  but  I  could  not,  for  verily  I  believe  we 
both  were  held  by  the  witchery  of  his  song. 

Then  came  the  last  verse,  still  strong  and  clear, 
with  its  vein  of  mockery : 

' '  But  hardly  was  he  within  their  sight 
He  was  gone  again  over  deep  and  height 
Husch,  husch  !  piff,  pafT !  trara  !" 

The  echoes  of  his  stentorian  tones  had  hardly 
died  away  when  he  was  on  us.  Rather,  I  should 
say,  he  was  in  the  presence  of  Sister  Genoveva, 
for  I  was  safely  ensconced  in  the  thicket,  resolved 
now  to  see  the  meeting  to  its  conclusion.  And 
what  a  picture  they  made  in  that  leaf-strewn  clear- 
ing, all  red  and  brown  and  gold  with  the  jewels  of 
the  dying  year,  the  chestnut  stretching  its  arms 
out  over  the  two  forms  as  if  in  a  blessing ! 

Not  all  the  studied  plainness  and  cloistral  sever- 
ity of  the  black  dress  could  suppress  the  womanly 
grace  and  beauty  of  the  full,  rounded  form  of  Sister 
Genoveva;  nor  could  the  hideous  hood,  which  had 
fallen  on  her  shoulders,  have  hidden  from  view 
those  sweet  features,  so  delicately  strong  and  full 
of  noble  calmness  and  serenity — and  yet  no  cold, 


2l6  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

marble,  nun-like  face,  for  the  full  red  lips,  the 
rosy  flush  of  the  rounded  cheeks,  the  dimpled  chin, 
and  the  warmth  of  those  luminous,  deep  blue  eyes 
betokened  an  affectionate  and  loving  heart;  and 
now  that  I  saw  her  with  such  opportunity  to  scan 
her  without  myself  being  seen,  I  could  understand 
the  reports  that  had  come  to  me  of  the  wonderful 
influence  she  already  exerted  over  the  Sisterhood 
by  reason  of  her  clear  vision,  her  piety,  her  strong 
will,  her  even  temper,  and  above  all  that  largeness  of 
heart  that  made  her  sought  even  more  than  Matter 
Maria  in  the  troubles  and  fears  and  temptations 
that  even  our  simple,  secluded  life  could  not  wholly 
shut  out  from  our  little  world. 

But  if  she  was  the  perfect  Eve  in  this  little  para- 
dise under  the  spreading  chestnut,  Sonnlein  was  no 
unworthy  Adam.  I  knew  not  which  of  the  two  most 
satisfied  my  carnal  eye  with  their  fresh,  young, 
healthful  beauty.  From  beneath  his  gray  cap  his 
thick  black  hair  hung  in  heavy,  wavy  masses  about 
his  neck  and  shoulders.  His  ruddy,  sunburned  face 
glowed  with  the  spirit  and  animation  of  his  song. 
At  first,  when  he  burst  upon  her,  he  started  back  in 
surprise,  and  then  he  called  to  her  in  gentle  gayety, 
as  he  dropped  on  one  knee,  cap  in  hand,  bowing 
gracefully  (so  that  I  wondered  where  he  had  caught 
those  courtier-like  airs  which  not  at  all  pleased  my 
plain  ways),  "  Thou  queen  of  the  Roses  of  Saron, 
art  thou  holding  court  in  thy  temple  of  beauty  ?  " 


WHEN    HEARTS    ARE   YOUNG  217 

And  then,  for  I  could  have  sworn  when  he  burst 
upon  us  she  had  been  thinking  of  him  in  maidenly 
tenderness,  she  looked  up  indifferently,  even  coldly, 
and  rebuked  him,  "  Shame  on  thee  to  disturb  these 
sacred  grounds  with  thy  worldly,  boisterous  song, 
thou  noisy  reveler.  Thou  idle,  mighty  Nimrod, 
where  are  the  fruits  of  thy  chase  ?  Perchance  "  (and 
I  saw  a  sly  twinkle  in  her  eyes  that  his  abashed 
face  did  not  observe)  "  thou  didst  dream  too  long- 
under  the  fir  tree  and  the  white  deer  escaped  thee? 
Gay  garments  torn  from  innocent  beasts  to  add  to 
vain  adornment  do  not  make  one  a  great  hunter." 

"Nay,  Sister  Genoveva,"  he  replied  more  ear- 
nestly, "  no  white  deer  ran  through  my  dreams  ;  no 
fir  trees'  shade  soothed  mine  eyes  to  sleep.  Wide 
awake  was  I,  and  yet  I  dreamed  of  a  fair,  sweet 
rose  that  I,  even  though  it  had  thorns  to  prick  me, 
would  wear  next  my  heart." 

"  Indeed,  thou  poet,  thou  speakest  as  though 
inspired  with  love.  Surely  it  is  time  thou  dost 
take  the  vow  of  loyalty  to  the  celestial  Virgin 
and  join  the  consecrated  Brotherhood  ;  why  de- 
layest  thou  so  long  ?  In  her  love  thou  wilt  find 
no  thorns." 

"  But,  dear  sister,  I  want  the  rose  with  the 
thorns  "  (how  delicately  he  emphasized  the  "  with  "). 
"  Canst  thou  not  see  whom  I  mean,  or  dost  thou 
not  care  to  know  ? " 

And  then  I  saw  the  delicious  mockery  leave  her 


2l8  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

face  and  voice  as  she  said  to  him  in  solemn  tones, 
"  Nay,  my  brother  Sonnlein,  I  dare  not  know  ;  for 
thy  sake  as  well  as  mine  I  must  not  know.  Thou 
art  possessed  by  some  idle  fancy  the  Evil  One  hath 
put  into  thee.  Thou  must  not  disrespect  me  by 
making  my  woman's  heart  struggle  'gainst  my 
vows  of  celibacy." 

He  lifted  his  head  and  looking  into  her  eyes  that 
met  his  so  fearlessly,  his  passionate  heart  burst 
forth  into  a  very  torrent  of  love,  so  I  wondered  she 
could  withstand  him.  "  I  do  love  thee,  sister," 
murmured  tumultuously  the  low,  warm  voice, 
"  with  all  my  heart  and  mind  and  body  and  soul. 
I  do  not  hold  thee  lightly  in  my  respect  or  I  had 
spoken  of  this  long  ago ;  but  my  respect  for  thee, 
for  Vaterchen,  for  our  Holy  Order  forbade  ;  but 
I  can  no  longer  withhold  myself."  And  then 
masterfully  he  stood  erect  and  in  strong,  earnest 
tones  declared,  "  I  for  one  am  not  ashamed  of 
human  love.  I  should  rather  be  ashamed  of  my- 
self did  I  not  love  such  as  thou  art  to  me."  And 
then,  the  eloquent  diplomat,  "  Brother  Beissel, 
whom  the  Roses  of  Saron  worship  as  little  less 
than  God  himself,  hath  he  not  declared,  is  it  not 
the  very  foundation  of  your  vows  of  celibacy  that 
man  was  first  a  spirit  containing  both  the  elements 
of  man  and  woman  ;  that  this  spiritual  virgin,  the 
Sophia ,  left  him  ?  Then  was  woman  formed  from 
a  rib  of  his  side,  whereby  man  lost  his  woman's 


WHEN    HEARTS   ARE   YOUNG  2IO. 

attributes  and  retained  merely  man's  ?  Thou  must 
not  smile  and  shake  thy  head,  my  sister.  Thou 
art,  I  care  not  if  the  wide  world  know  it,  my 
Sophia,  my  angel,  my  celestial  virgin,  that  left  me 
in  my  creating.  Canst  marvel  and  deem  me  mad 
or  blasphemous  because  I  long  to  come  to  mine 
own  other  self  again,  to  have  thee,  mine  own  sweet 
rib,  evermore  at  my  side,  beneath  my  heart,  caress- 
ing it  and  content  to  hear  it  murmur  its  undying 
love  for  thee — my  sister,  mein  Liebchen — tell  me, 
dost  thou  not  love  me  ?  " 

How  like  one  inspired  he  pleaded !  Surely  she 
would  yield,  for  I  saw  the  steady  light  in  her  eyes 
falter,  and  for  a  moment  she  clasped  her  hands 
meekly  before  her,  like  a  humble  captive  before 
some  proud  conqueror,  but  just  for  a  moment — 
strange  is  the  heart  of  woman — and  then  I  was 
most  inconsistently  displeased  to  see  her  lift  her 
gaze  all  unabashed  to  his  as  she  said  lightly, 
"What  an  orator  thou  art ;  now  know  I  what  we 
oft  have  marveled  at,  how  thou  wheedlest  our  good 
Brother  Jabez  into  so  much  forgiveness  for  thy 
indifference  to  our  holy  life." 

"  So  our  good  brother  is  wheedled,"  thought  I, 
indignantly  at  first,  and  then  smiling  in  a  superior 
manner  at  the  impossibility  of  such  a  thing  as  my 
being  wheedled. 

But  my  boy  was  not  one  of  those  who  could 
easily  be  laughed  away  from  his  purpose,  for  I  had 


220  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

taught  him — in  season  and  out — never  to  let  sar- 
casm or  ridicule  have  the  slightest  effect  on  him 
when  he  had  once  chosen  his  ground  and  knew  he 
was  right.  If  he  did  feel  Genoveva's  gentle  mock- 
ery he  showed  it  not,  but  instead  did  what  I  never 
could  have  had  the  courage  to  do,  unless  upon 
modest  invitation,  and  that  was  to  step  resolutely 
forward  and  take  Sister  Genoveva  by  the  hands 
and  hold  her  thus  against  her  feeble  striving  to 
free  herself  while  he  said  to  her  boldly,  "  Thou 
dost  love  me  or  else  wouldst  not  tease  me  so ! " 

"  Hast  forgotten  our  promise  to  good  Brother 
Jabez  when  thou  didst  fight  Johann,  that  we  would 
never  again  talk  to  each  other  of  love?  " 

"  That  promise  hath  no  life  ;  we  were  but  chil- 
dren, and  secondly,  'twas  drawn  from  us  by  fear. 
Such  promises  Vaterchen,  who  knoweth  the  law, 
himself  sayeth  are  not  binding." 

"  Oh,  thou  lawyer,"  thought  I  to  myself ;  "thou'rt 
far  too  worldly-wise  for  a  minnesinger." 

"Thou  dost  love  me,"  he  again  said  strongly. 

"Thou  tyrant  to  hold  me  against  my  will. 
Loose  thy  hold  or  else  I  shall  not  doubt  I  dislike 
thee,"  she  declared  right  vehemently,  though  it 
seemed  to  me  she  might  have  struggled  more  ear- 
nestly to  loosen  his  grasp. 

But  like  a  true-hearted  man  he  obeyed  her  re- 
quest, dropping  her  hands  and  saying  softly,  "Thou 
dost  not  hate  me,  then,  thou  cold-hearted  nun  ? " 


WHEN    HEARTS    ARE   YOUNG  221 

"  Nay,  naught  of  reason  have  I  to  hate  thee, 
Sonnlein  " — and  how  sweetly  she  said  his  name — 
"  but  dost  not  know,  thou  mighty  hunter,  woman 
expects  little  less  than  perfection  in  him  she  would 
love,"  and  then  she  said  maliciously,  so  I  could 
not  fathom  her,  "surely  thou  dost  not  think 
thyself  perfect?" 

"As  to  thy  last,"  he  rejoined,  "I  shall  make 
answer,  I  am  human.  I  leave  it  to  woman  to  be 
perfect " — the  flatterer.  "As  to  thy  first  I  doubt 
not  thy  sex  ever  looks  for  perfection  in  our  im- 
perfect sex,  and  it  strikes  me  this  accounts  more 
for  our  Sisterhood  than  does  their  love  for  their 
heavenly  Bridegroom,  whom  they  see  not  until 
after  death." 

"Thou  irreverent  scoundrel,"  thought  I. 

"And  yet,"  continued  he,  "when  I  think  of 
him  for  whom  our  Sister  Eunice  lately  left  the 
Roses  of  Saron,  it  seemeth  as  though  some  of 
thy  sex  at  least  look  not  for  perfection." 

"  Still  I  say  our  foolish  hearts  yearn  for  the 
ideal,  but  when  we  love  the  attainable  we  forgive 
everything,  and  this  is  woman's  weakness." 

"  Nay,  sister,  'tis  her  most  glorious  strength 
that  she,  an  angel,  can  stoop  down  and  make  him 
see  heaven  in  her." 

"  That  I  had  the  gift  to  speak  with  such  a  golden 
tongue,"  thought  I,  and  then  fortunately  for  us 
all — for  I  liked  not  my  spying,  and  yet  I  could  not 


222  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

leave  unnoticed — Sonnlein  chanced  to  see  Brother 
Alburtus  approach.  Suddenly  that  scamp  of 
mine  kissed  her  full  on  her  sweet  lips.  How  she 
blushed  and  said  not  a  word,  as  he  held  her  close 
to  him  for  a  moment  whispering  passionately, 
"  Thou  must  love  me  as  I  love  thee,  forever ! " 
and  then  as  they  both  saw  Brother  Alburtus  peril- 
ously nigh,  she  quietly  sat  down  again  at  her 
former  place,  most  demurely,  while  Sonnlein  passed 
on  toward  his  Kammer. 

As  Brother  Alburtus  came  upon  her  he  stopped 
for  a  moment,  hand  rubbing  hand  as  usual,  looked 
at  her  in  grave  absorption  and  passed  on  as 
though  she  were  not  there. 

And  then  I  could  have  sworn  I  saw  peering  at 
her,  and  next  at  the  departing  form  of  Brother 
Alburtus,  the  loathsome  features  of  that  awful 
woman  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  over  ten  years, 
from  the  shelter  of  a  tangled  clump  of  vines  and 
brush,  which  I  solemnly  promised  myself  should 
be  cut  down  on  the  morrow,  root  and  branch. 

Stealthily  I  crept  out  of  my  hiding-place  and 
proceeded  to  where  it  seemed  I  had  seen  the  witch, 
but  as  I  came  near  I  saw  naught,  and  yet  as  I 
walked  slowly  away  there  came  faintly  to  mine  ears 
as  though  receding  from  me,  that  horrible,  cackling 
laugh  I  had  reason  to  hold  in  so  much  dread. 


CHAPTER  XX 


SISTER    GENOVEVA    IS    GONE 

O  thou  whose  glory  fills  the  etherial  throne, 
And  all  ye  deathless  powers,  protect  my  son ! 

— Iliad. 

WILIGHT  was  fast  deep- 
ening into  night  when  I 
returned  to  my  Kammer 
in     the     large     Brother 
House,    or    Bethania, 
which    we    built    a    few 
years  after  the  departure 
of  the  Eckerlings,  down 
in  the  meadow,  nigh  the 
Cocalico,  and  facing  the 
Sister   House,  or  Saron,  Brother    Beissel's  cabin 
sitting  circumspectly  between  the  two  houses  of 
our  Order. 

Here,  as  in  Zion,  Sonnlein  and  I  had  adjoining 
cells.  I  was  not  greatly  surprised  as  I  entered 
mine,  to  hear  him  whistle  softly  a  worldly  tune, 
though  where  he  had  caught  it  I  knew  not — surely 
not  from  me — for  our  sober  lives  never  favored 
such  godless  puckerings  and  twistings  of  the  lips ! 

223 


xJHiPl 

WW 

fiel 

B 

■ 

224  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Then  he  hummed  the  blasphemous  thing  for  a 
while,  changing  into  whistling  again,  and  in  his 
humming  and  whistlings  making  such  vain  and 
perverse  changes,  flying  from  high  to  low,  from 
loud  to  soft,  mingling  with  it  all  such  sundry  quiv- 
erings and  queer  little  runs  and  trillings,  until  not 
able  to  stand  it  longer — for  it  seemed  he  would 
never  stop — I  marched  sternly  to  the  doorway  of 
his  cell,  flung  back  the  light  door  and  spake  to 
him,  "  Art  crazy  or  in  love  ?  " 

"  Both,  Vaterchen,  both  !  "  he  fairly  shouted, 
as  he  grabbed  me  ere  I  knew  what  was  up,  and 
spun  me  around  so  I  could  hardly  keep  my  feet. 

"  Surely  thou'rt  mad,"  I  gasped  feebly  as  I 
sank  down  on  his  bench,  "  Hast  been  drinking  ?  " 
— though  I  knew  he  had  not. 

"  Yea,"  he  shouted  again  even  louder  than  be- 
fore, "from  the  loving  cup  of  the  gods  ! " 

"Be  not  so  boisterous,  thou  blasphemer! 
Wouldst  have  the  Brethren  think  thee  drunk  ?  " 

"  The  Brethren  are  not  about ;  I  am  not  so  wild 
I  know  not  how  to  save  thy  gentle  reputation, 
Vaterchen" — and  in  truth  in  his  adventures  he 
ever  regarded  me. 

"  Still  it  poorly  becometh  thee  to  act  like  a 
thoughtless  boy,"  I  remonstrated. 

"  Surely,  Vaterchen"  he  laughed  gayly,  "  if 
thou  didst  but  know  what  it  is  to  be  in  love  thou 
couldst  not  scold  me  so !  " 


SISTER   GENOVEVA    IS   GONE  22  5 

"  Every  man  to  his  trade,"  I  replied  dryly,  not 
trusting  myself  to  look  at  him ;  "  my  trade  is 
preaching  and  trying  to  behave  myself.  Thine 
appears  to  be  loving,"  saying  the  latter  as  sarcas- 
tically as  my  dislike  for  sharp  words  and  my  love 
for  him  would  allow. 

But  he  only  laughed  the  louder  as  he  said, 
"  Tis  a  trade  that  never  had  to  advertise  for  ap- 
prentices." 

"  Cease  thy  levity ;  canst  not  be  sober-minded  ? 
If  thou  must  make  music  we  have  hundreds  of 
noble  hymns  in  our  books." 

"  They  are  not  framed  to  my  mood,  but  " — and 
now  in  truth  he  looked  more  serious  and  manlike, 
as  I  most  admired  him — "dost  thou  agree  with 
our  superintendent  that  marriage  is  a  sinful  state  ? " 

"  Dost  ask  for  mere  curiosity,  or  hast  found 
some  foolish  woman  who  careth  for  thee  ? "  I 
asked  with  seeming  ignorance. 

He  flushed  at  this,  and  then  said  gently,  the 
schemer,  "Nay,  but  sometime  I  might  see  one 
foolish  enough,  as  thou  sayest,  to  love  me  and  per- 
chance I  might  commit  in  all  ignorance  the  griev- 
ous sin  of  marriage." 

"  I  commend  thy  great  thoughtfulness,"  said  I, 
looking  at  him  in  a  way  that  made  him  in  turn 
look  at  me  as  though  wondering  whether  I  knew 
more  than  I  cared  to  tell.  "  To  relieve  thy  anxiety 
I    shall  tell   thee,  which    I  would  not  have  pro- 

Q 


226  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

claimed  from  the  housetops,  there  being  those 
who  hold  to  stricter  views,  I  do  not  regard  mar- 
riage as  sinful.  The  word  of  God  sayeth  not  so. 
In  truth  it  esteemeth  marriage  highly.  We  base 
our  views  of  celibacy  on  what  Paulus  sayeth,  thou 
rememberest, '  For  I  would  that  all  men  were  even 
as  I  myself,'  meaning  unmarried." 

"  But  Paulus  himself  wrote  that  he  spake  this 
by  permission  and  not  of  commandment." 

"True,  and  so  say  I,  now  that  I  am  older  and 
wiser.  We  practise  celibacy,  and  praise  it  because 
we  believe  that,  as  good  soldiers  of  the  Lord,  we 
can  go  better  to  battle  than  if  we  are  impeded  by 
wives  and  children." 

A  long  pause  and  then  anxiously,  as  though 
much  depended  on  my  reply,  he  asked  with  a 
touch  of  reverence  in  his  voice,  "  Wouldst  think 
it  wrong  for  any  of  our  Sisters  to  marry  ? " 

"  Our  vows  are  binding  only  on  our  consciences. 
We  compel  no  one  to  celibacy.  Each  follows  his 
own  will.  Thou  knowest  many  of  the  Brethren 
and  Sisters  who  were  married  when  they  joined 
our  order  left  us  again  to  live  together  and  no 
one  said  them  'nay,'  but  our  single  Sisters  and 
Brethren  have  almost  invariably  remained  with  us." 

"  If  I  were  to  marry  one  of  the  Sisterhood, 
wouldst  thou  condemn  either  of  us  ? "  he  asked 
eagerly. 

"When  thou'rt  sure  thou  hast  found  one  to 


SISTER    GENOVEVA    IS    GONE  227 

break  her  vows  for  thee  it  were  time  to  ask  me 
that,"  I  admonished  him  ;  and  then,  as  I  arose  to 
return  to  my  cell,  I  said  smiling,  not  meaning  it 
with  malice,  "thou  knowest  much  may  happen 
between  sunrise  and  sunset." 

Hardly  had  I  said  this — and  oft  it  hath  come  to 
me  how  like  it  was  to  the  fulfilling  of  a  prophecy 
— when  the  Kloster  bell  rang  out  from  Mt.  Sinai 
strong  and  clear  as  though  calling  us  to  face  some 
sudden  danger.  Alarm  was  writ  plainly  on  our 
faces  as  we  looked  out  of  the  little  window,  fear- 
ing to  see  the  glare  of  fire  against  the  sky,  but 
we  saw  nothing.  Soon  the  hall  and  corridors  were 
filled  with  the  anxious  brethren,  for  it  was  still  a 
few  hours  from  midnight,  and  each  of  us  knew 
something  of  great  moment  must  be  about  to  cause 
this  hurried  ringing  so  early  in  the  night. 

As  Sonnlein  and  I  hastened  out  of  the  corridor 
and  the  low  doorway  for  Brother  Beissel's  cabin, 
the  rest  of  the  anxious  brothers  trooping  after  us, 
we  saw  our  prioress  and  a  number  of  the  Sisters 
gathered  about  our  leader  in  front  of  his  cabin, 
the  changing  light  from  the  fat  lamps  showing 
clearly  enough  the  fear  and  consternation  op- 
pressing us. 

As  our  leader  saw  me,  he  called  me  to  him  and 
said,  his  voice  trembling  in  spite  of  him  :  "  Our 
Sister  Genoveva  cannot  be  found ;  no  one  hath 
seen  her  since  sunset." 


228  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

I  could  feel  Sonnlein's  grip  on  my  arm  like  the 
hold  of  a  drowning  man,  but  he  said  nothing. 

"  I  myself  saw  her  then  in  the  Sisters'  close, 
sitting  at  the  foot  of  a  large  chestnut  tree,"  said  I 
slowly,  for  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  that  evil 
face  I  now  felt  certain  I  had  really  seen  peering 
at  our  sister  from  behind  the  thicket. 

"  She  may  have  gone  to  some  of  the  neighbors 
to  attend  some  sick  one,"  suggested  Brother  Beis- 
sel,  but  saying  it  as  against  his  own  belief. 

"  But  first  she  would  have  left  word  with  us," 
the  prioress  reminded  him,  "for  such  is  our  rule." 

"  Still,  there  may  have  been  sudden  illness  that 
left  no  time  for  word  to  us,"  persisted  our  leader. 

So  far,  no  one  had  said  a  word  as  to  the  great 
fear  that  I  knew  was  clutching  the  hearts  of  my 
Brothers  and  Sisters,  which  was  that  the  Indians 
had  either  killed  or  carried  away  our  Genoveva; 
for  over  a  year  had  gone  by  since  the  French  and 
Indians  had  taken  up  musket  and  tomahawk 
against  the  English  settlements,  and  though  we 
had  thus  far  been  spared  the  horrors  of  this  savage 
war,  yet  we  heard  now  and  then  of  awful  massacres 
of  the  whites  by  the  Indians  not  many  miles  to 
the  north  and  west,  among  the  outlying  settle- 
ments of  our  province,  so  that  the  whole  country, 
by  reason  of  these  barbarous  deeds  and  the  want 
of  proper  defense,  was  in  a  great  state  of  excite- 
ment and  apprehension. 


SISTER   GENOVEVA    IS    GONE  229 

Calling  Brother  Alburtus  to  me,  I  asked  him 
slowly  and  distinctly,  for  he  seemed  oft  not  to 
understand  one :  "Thou  wast  in  the  Brother  woods 
and  the  Sister  woods  at  sunset.  Didst  see  signs 
of  Indians,  the  red  men  ?  " 

But  he  only  shook  his  head  with  his  accustomed 
vacant  air,  so  that  Brother  Beissel  exclaimed  impa- 
tiently :  "  'Tis  waste  of  time  to  question  him  ;  he 
never  seeth  aught." 

"  Brother  Beissel,  if  thou  wilt  send  of  the  breth- 
ren among  the  neighbors  to  inquire  of  our  sister, 
Sonnlein  and  I  will  go  to  the  Sister  woods,"  and 
with  this  I  turned  about  for  Sonnlein,  but  he  was 
gone  as  though  he  too  had  been  swallowed  up,  for 
I  had  felt  him  but  a  moment  before  at  my  elbow. 
My  flesh  was  beginning  to  creep  and  prick  with 
unmanly  fright  when  one  of  the  brethren  spake : 

"  He  hath  just  gone  with  a  fagot  to  Mt.  Sinai," 
and  as  I  looked  where  my  brother  pointed,  I  saw 
the  occasional  glimmer  of  a  light  through  the  trees 
and  bushes. 

Without  waiting  for  a  light,  though  the  night 
was  dark  and  overcast  with  heavy  clouds,  threat- 
ening rain,  I  dashed  after  my  boy  as  fast  as  the 
gloom  and  my  knowledge  of  our  Kloster  ground 
would  let  me. 

When  I  reached  him  he  was  already  at  the 
chestnut  tree,  kneeling,  torch  in  hand,  closely 
searching  the  ground.     As  I  came  nigh  I  saw  his 


230  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

face  was  hard  and  drawn,  and  though  I  could  see 
his  hands  tremble,  his  voice  was  firm  as  a  rock  as 
he  commanded  me,  as  he  never  spoke  to  me  before, 
to  stand  back  a  moment. 

All  around  the  base  of  the  tree  he  looked,  miss- 
ing, as  I  thought,  not  a  leaf  or  twig  or  stone,  I 
wondering  now  at  the  patience  of  him  who  never 
since  I  had  known  him  had  been  overly  patient. 

Then  slowly  he  got  up  from  the  ground,  still 
holding  his  torch  close  to  the  earth,  and  started 
off,  now  stopping  as  in  doubt,  then  holding  aside 
a  branch  or  vine  in  his  way,  I  all  the  while  follow- 
ing as  meekly  as  a  little  boy  his  parent,  but  re- 
joicing now  that  Sonnlein's  living  in  the  woods  so 
much  had  taught  him  what  I  knew  so  little  of. 
On  we  slowly  and  surely  went,  he  often  stooping 
down  and  scrutinizing  the  earth  as  though  he  had 
lost  his  guiding  marks,  but  always  finding  them 
again,  until  we  had  gone  down  over  the  hill  and 
were  aiming  toward  the  Cocalico  where  it  wound  its 
course  fully  a  half-mile  below  the  Brother  House. 

A  great  fear  again  chilled  me  to  the  bones. 
Our  sister  had  thrown  herself  into  the  cold  waters 
of  the  creek  rather  than  weakly  surrender  herself 
to  love  for  man  !  But  when  I  had  seen  her  last 
she  seemed  not  over-weighted  with  grief  or  re- 
morse.    Nay,  not  self-murder ! 

And  now  as  we  were  following  the  right  bank 
of  the  Cocalico  and  were  treading  the  wet,  soft 


SISTER    GENOVEVA    IS    GONE  23 1 

earth,  I  could  see  plainly  now  and  then  what  a 
child  could  have  seen — through  the  weeds  and 
grasses,  footprints  of  three  people,  one  of  whom 
I  felt  sure  was  our  sister,  for  some  of  the  prints 
were  small  and  delicate,  such  as  would  be  made  by 
the  wooden  soles  of  her  sandals.  Other  of  the 
prints  from  their  size  were  those  of  a  grown  man, 
but  whether  white  or  Indian  I  had  not  sufficient 
woodcraft  to  tell.  The  other  marks  were  too 
small  for  a  man's  and  yet  not  Genoveva's,  being 
differently  shaped. 

We  had  not  gone  far  along  the  Cocalico,  when 
suddenly  the  grassy  bank  spread  out  into  a  stony, 
gravelly  beach,  where  the  deep  pool  we  had  been 
following  dwindled  away  to  a  shallow,  rippling 
stream.  On  this  hard  beach  I  at  once  lost  the 
footprints,  but  Sonnlein  never  hesitating  led  the 
way,  still  silent  and  grim,  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
there  again  I  plainly  saw  the  foot-marks  in  the 
soft  mud  among  the  stones. 

He  paused  but  a  moment  as  he  looked  at  the 
marks,  and  then  plunged  into  the  stream  without 
waiting  to  see  whether  or  how  I  might  follow. 
My  selfish  indignation  at  his  indifference  to  me 
lasted  but  the  space  of  a  lightning's  flash,  for  I 
immediately  thought  of  the  great  trouble  that  had 
come  to  my  boy,  and  without  any  ado  I  plunged 
into  the  icy  waters  that,  despite  its  shallowness, 
caught    me    knee-deep    at   times,  and    with    such 


232  A   TALE   OF    THE    KLOSTER 

savage  eagerness  as  I  feared  more  than  once  would 
sweep  my  feet  off  the  slippery  bed  of  the  stream 
and  no  doubt  drown  me,  for  in  my  neglect  of 
earthly  things  I  had  never  learned  to  swim. 

But  with  all  my  floundering  and  splashing  I  did 
at  last  reach  the  farther  side,  where  I  found  Sonn- 
lein  following  the  shore  looking  closely  for  the 
foot-prints,  of  which  I  could  see  none.  But  sud- 
denly we  found  them  again  quite  a  distance  below 
where  we  had  emerged  from  the  Cocalico,  and  I 
realized  now  that  the  captors  had  practised  the  old 
trick  of  walking  in  the  water  some  distance  to 
destroy  all  pursuit. 

But  now  Sonnlein's  fagot  was  almost  burnt  out 
and  the  rain  was  beginning  to  fall,  lightly  as  yet, 
though  I  knew  it  would  soon  be  drenching  us  to 
the  skin,  and  by  washing  away  the  foot-prints 
make  it  impossible  to  follow  any  further. 

I  tried  to  call  Sonnlein's  mind  to  the  utter  folly 
of  hoping  to  accomplish  aught  in  the  darkness 
and  the  rain,  but  his  only  reply  was  to  make  a 
fresh  torch  from  the  dead  branches  of  an  old  tree 
overhanging  the  creek.  Lighting  the  sticks  from 
his  fast  expiring  fagot,  he  suddenly  turned  to  me. 
as  if  for  the  first  time  since  we  had  left  the  chest- 
nut tree  he  were  aware  of  me,  and  said  shortly, 
"  Stay  thou  here  till  I  come  back,"  and  with  that 
he  plunged  into  the  heavy  brush,  mine  eyes  follow- 
ing anxiously  as  far  as  I  could  the  light  of  his  torch. 


SISTER    GENOVEVA    IS    GONE  233 

It  was  not  long  until,  with  all  the  straining  of  my 
sight,  I  no  more  could  see  aught  of  his  light,  and 
then  heavy-hearted — as  I  had  not  been  for  many 
a  year — and  wet  and  shivering  from  the  cold  rain 
that  was  beating  down  faster  and  faster,  I  crouched 
up  close  to  the  dry  side  of  the  old  dead  tree,  and 
patiently  awaited  in  all  the  misery  of  my  body 
and  mind  the  return  of  my  boy. 

Not  that  I  feared  he  could  not  take  care  of  him- 
self, for  I  knew  he  had  the  strength  of  a  lion  and 
the  quickness  of  a  cat,  but  I  knew  his  determined, 
persistent  nature,  and  that  he  would  go  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  if  needs  be,  for  her  he  loved. 

How  long  I  waited  under  the  old  tree  I  remem- 
ber not.  Through  all  the  rushing  of  the  rain  and 
the  sweeping  of  the  winds,  I  heard  faintly  the 
Kloster  bells,  and  I  knew  it  must  be  midnight.  I 
could  see  in  mind  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  file  out 
of  Bethania  and  Saron  for  our  little  chapel  for  the 
accustomed  devotions,  and  I  found  much  comfort 
because  I  felt  sure  earnest,  loving  prayers  were 
ascending  to  Him  to  watch  over  our  sister  and 
my  boy  and  me,  and  bring  us  back  safe  and  whole 
to  the  fold. 

But  mortal  flesh  is  ever  weak,  and  as  I  stood 
and  waited  with  the  storm  howling  about  me, 
wondering  where  our  sister  was  in  all  this  wind 
and  rain,  wondering  where  my  boy  was  and  when 
he  would  come  back  to  me,  I  lost  heart  and  faith. 


234  A    TALE    0F    THE    KLOSTER 

Besides  the  wind  and  the  rain  and  the  murmuring 
of  the  creek,  everything  was  absolutely  silent.  I 
seemed  utterly  alone  in  the  world.  I  thought  to 
myself,  Who  or  what  am  I  in  all  this  great  universe  ? 
What  careth  God  for  me  ?  While  in  this  weak 
mood  an  owl  hooted  overhead,  and  though  I  had 
never  before  found  the  hooting  of  owls  aught  but 
sad  and  mournful,  this  one  sounded  to  me  almost 
as  sweet  as  our  own  dear  bells.  And  then  I 
thought  of  what  our  Master  had  said  about  a  spar- 
row's fall — and  I  doubt  not  he  also  regardeth 
owls — so  that  I  felt  better  again. 

And  great  need  I  had  of  comfort,  for  hour  after 
hour  I  waited  for  my  boy.  I  was  drenched  to 
the  skin  and  so  cold  I  shook  like  a  leaf.  More 
than  once  as  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  wait  no 
longer  I  started  to  leave,  but  then  crouched  closer 
to  the  tree  again,  ashamed  of  myself  for  wanting 
to  leave  my  post.  Still  as  the  long,  awful  night 
grew  toward  morning  and  the  faint  light  of  a 
gloomy  dawn  came  on,  I  thought  to  wait  longer 
were  of  no  avail,  and  so  in  great  anguish  of  mind, 
heeding  not  the  lesser  pains  of  the  flesh,  I  made 
my  way  back,  heavy-eyed  and  still  more  heavy- 
hearted  to  my  cell,  drying  myself  as  best  I  might, 
and  then  throwing  myself  on  my  hard  bench  to 
seek  in  sleep  some  peace  for  body  and  mind. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


BROTHER  ALBURTUS 

When  death  immortal  stays  the  mortal  pulse. 

— Lucretius. 

HEN  I  write  here  that  I 
slept  until  after  the  sev- 
enth hour — which  was 
midday  with  us — I  fear 
it  may  be  thought  I 
missed  not  much  our 
sister  and  my  Sonnlein, 
but  I  like  not  to  be  mis- 
judged, for  though  I 
slept  so  long  and  even 
soundly,  it  was  because 
of  a  healthy  body  and  for  the  still  better  reason 
that  it  was  the  rule  and  habit  of  Brother  and  Sister, 
so  far  as  we  could  school  our  weak,  rebellious 
flesh,  never  to  fret  or  worry  or  complain  about 
anything,  whether,  as  blind  mortals  regard  things, 
it  were  good  or  ill. 

But  when  I  did  get  up  stiff  and  sore,  my  first 
thought  was  of  Sonnlein,  hoping  he  had  returned 
by  now,  but  as  I  opened  the  door  into  his  Kammcr 

235 


236  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

my  hope  sank  within  me  as  I  missed  not  only  his 
presence  but  everything  else  that  would  indicate 
he  had  returned  during  my  sleep. 

Inquiry  among  the  Brethren  confirmed  my  fears. 
He  had  not  returned.  No  one  had  seen  him  since 
the  night  before  nor  had  they  learned  anything  of 
Genoveva  among  the  neighbors.  I  reported  first 
to  our  superintendent  what  Sonnlein  and  I  had 
found  and  how  he  had  gone  on  against  my  will, 
but  I  said  nothing  about  my  dread  of  the  witch, 
for  while  I  was  sure  she  had  something  to  do  with 
our  sister's  disappearance,  yet  the  footprints  had 
shown  some  other  than  the  witch  among  the  captors. 

Our  leader  at  once  called  a  meeting  of  the  Broth- 
ers and  the  nearest  house-fathers  and  set  before 
them  the  substance  of  my  report.  It  was  soon 
agreed,  as  I  had  expected,  that  the  red  men  had 
stolen  our  sister.  But  what  was  to  be  done  was 
not  so  easy  to  decide.  Even  if  the  rain  had  not 
washed  away  the  footprints  none  of  us  were  suffi- 
ciently skilled  to  trace  the  savages.  To  make 
matters  worse,  this  war  with  the  French  again 
aroused  all  the  distrust  our  monastic  mode  of  life 
so  often  inflicted  on  us.  The  old  accusation  was 
revived  that  we  were  Jesuits,  through  whom  the 
French  and  Indians  were  continually  receiving 
secret  information  that  enabled  them  to  perpetrate 
massacre  after  massacre  with  impunity.  Indeed, 
so  important  in  this  respect  did  our  enemies  make 


BROTHER   ALBURTUS  237 

us  and  so  bitter  was  the  feeling  against  our  little 
community  that  finally  the  governor  of  the  prov- 
ince was  actually  prevailed  upon  to  appoint  a  com- 
mission to  inquire  into  these  charges  that  rankled 
in  our  breasts  in  spite  of  all  our  humility  and 
fortitude. 

We  could  endure  much  in  the  way  of  false  accu- 
sation, but  we  loved  in  our  quiet,  peaceful  way  our 
chosen  home  in  this  new  world,  and  while,  with 
our  view  of  war,  we  refused  to  bear  arms  against 
the  French  and  Indians,  we  were  always  zealous 
to  do  all  we  could  for  our  province,  and  this  we 
proved  fully  when  in  after  years  the  colonies  fought 
for  independence  we  gave  up  freely  of  our  prop- 
erty, never  asking  to  be  repaid  therefor,  to  the 
cause  of  our  beloved  Washington — ever  our  friend 
— and  not  only  our  property  and  our  services,  but 
many  a  Brother  and  Sister  cheerfully  and  lovingly 
gave  up  his  or  her  life  in  nursing  the  hundreds  of 
soldiers  that  lay  dying  of  fevers  in  the  halls  and 
cells  of  our  Kloster.  It  is  for  the  sake  of  these 
dear  martyr  Brothers  and  Sisters  I  write  this,  which 
to  others  may  seem  idle  boasting,  but  which  is  the 
glorious  truth,  as  the  records  will  show  to  him  that 
careth  to  read. 

The  governor's  commission  came  in  due  time 
and  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony  to  our  humble 
little  camp,  but  as  we  hid  nothing  from  them  and 
answered  freely  and  fearlessly  the  questions  as  to 


238  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

our  mode  of  life,  these  gentlemen  soon  left,  satis- 
fied that  we  were  not  Jesuits  nor  spies — traitors, 
but  were  what  we  claimed  to  be,  quiet,  peaceful 
monks  and  nuns,  serving  faithfully  according  to 
our  peculiar  ideas  the  same  God  and  the  same 
country  as  those  who  were  so  unnecessarily  alarmed 
about  us. 

But  all  the  distrust  and  suspicion  and  hatred  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  would  not  have  it  other 
than  that  we  were  spies  did  not  keep  us  from  writ- 
ing out  hundreds  of  notices  of  the  capture  of  our 
sister.  These  we  spread  as  far  and  wide  as  the 
state  of  affairs  would  let  us,  and,  as  day  after  day 
passed  without  bringing  to  me  my  Sonnlein  or  any 
word  of  him,  I  also  sent  out  notices  of  his  departure. 

In  our  great  trouble  it  came  to  me  that  our  jus- 
tice, Brother  Weiser,  might  help  us,  for  not  only 
was  he  ranger,  taking  care  of  all  stray  horses  and 
cattle,  but  as  Indian  interpreter  for  the  govern- 
ment in  this  cruel  war  he  saw  much  of  what  was 
going  on  and  of  necessity  met  a  great  many  peo- 
ple. Acting  upon  this  thought,  I  sent  him  a  letter 
setting  forth  in  full  about  our  sister  and  my  boy, 
knowing  our  stern  but  great-hearted  brother  would 
make  our  loss  his  and  leave  nothing  undone  to 
restore  to  us  our  own. 

But  over  a  month  went  by  without  a  word  or 
sign  of  our  lost  ones  and  to  most  of  us  they  were 
now  as  dead  ;  but  though  my  mind  and  heart  were 


BROTHER    ALBURTUS  239 

oft  assailed  with  a  great  dread  that  I  should  never 
again  see  my  boy  in  this  world,  yet  through  all  the 
dark  clouds  that  hung  over  me  there  would  now 
and  then  fall  on  me  the  bright  sunshine  of  hope. 

Another  month  went  by.  It  was  midwinter, 
and  though  I  knew  Sonnlein,  like  me,  never  made 
any  great  worry  about  the  weather,  no  matter  how 
severe,  I  could  not  help  wondering  where,  if  he 
were  still  alive,  he  had  place  to  lay  his  head  in  all 
this  broad  earth. 

While  in  this  mood  I  received  a  long  letter  from 
Brother  Weiser.  He  had  as  interpreter  taken 
part  in  many  negotiations  with  the  Indian  chiefs 
in  various  parts  of  the  province.  At  every  oppor- 
tunity and  wherever  he  had  been  he  had  sought 
information  about  Genoveva  and  Sonnlein.  It 
grieved  our  brother  much  that  he  had  been  able 
to  learn  nothing  anywhere.  There  had  come  to 
him  strange  tales  from  some  of  the  Indians  he  had 
met  about  a  tall,  strong  white  man  who  was  wan- 
dering from  village  to  village  and  tribe  to  tribe 
seeking  for  his  white  squaw.  The  Indians  had  a 
name  for  him  which  meant  one  who  wandered 
about  searching  without  ceasing.  There  had  also 
come  equally  strange  stones  to  our  brother  of  a 
young  white  hunter  who  was  fighting  among  the 
hills  and  valleys  of  the  Blue  Mountains  to  the 
north  and  west  beyond  the  block-house  forts  with 
untiring  and  savage  ferocity  against  the  French 


240  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Indians,  by  whom  the  young  hunter  was  known  as 
"  The  Firebrand,"  some  of  the  Indians  regarding 
him  as  mad  for  that  he  rested  not  night  or  day,  as 
it  seemed  to  them  ;  that  the  savages  believed  he 
bare  a  charmed  life  and  that  all  the  red  men  feared 
him  exceedingly.  More  than  this  our  good  brother 
could  not  tell  us,  but  somehow  it  left  no  doubt  in 
my  mind  that  this  young  wanderer,  this  fiery  hunter, 
must  be  none  other  than  Sonnlein,  roaming  the 
wilds  so  far  away  in  the  undying  hope  that  some- 
where he  would  find  our  beloved  Genoveva. 

In  this  uncertain,  harassing  state  stood  the  wel- 
fare of  my  Sonnlein  and  our  sister,  when  one  day 
thinking  even  more  than  usual  about  him,  I  found 
myself  wandering  along  the  banks  of  the  now  ice- 
bound Cocalico.  Ere  I  knew  how  far  I  had  wan- 
dered thus  aimlessly  I  had  arrived  at  the  place 
where  Sonnlein  and  I  had  crossed  the  creek  on 
that  awful  night.  I  could  see  through  all  the  ice 
and  snow  where  the  pool  narrowed  at  the  stony 
beach  and  on  the  opposite  side  some  distance  down 
the  creek  stood  the  old,  dead  tree  from  whose 
gaunt  and  gnarled  limbs  the  owl  had  hooted  to  me 
to  be  of  good  cheer. 

I  crossed  the  snow-covered  ice  and  slid  and 
walked  along  the  bank  until  I  came  to  the  old 
tree,  where  I  paused  for  a  moment  to  consider  the 
direction  Sonnlein  had  taken  when  he  left  me  that 
night.     And  now,  like  him,  I   plunged   into  the 


BROTHER   ALBURTUS  24 1 

undergrowth  that  overran  the  lowlands  in  this  little 
valley  of  the  Cocalico.  Often  I  slipped  and  stum- 
bled over  some  log  or  stone  or  brake  through  the 
snow  into  a  hole  or  gulley,  so  that  I  marvel  now  I 
did  not  break  my  legs.  The  branches  and  the 
vines  caught  me  about  the  arms  and  feet  and  more 
than  once  stung  me  across  the  face,  but  it  seemed 
I  had  only  a  great  overpowering  desire  to  press 
forward  in  the  direction  I  knew  Sonnlein  had  gone. 

In  this  wise  I  stumbled  on  in  the  snow  for  some 
distance  without  seeing  any  sign  of  any  human 
being.  As  I  stopped  for  a  moment,  nearly  ex- 
hausted with  my  wild  enterprise,  to  catch  my 
breath,  I  gave  a  great  start  as  I  saw  but  a  few  paces 
ahead  of  me  tracks  in  the  snow,  and  which,  as  I 
hurried  on,  I  saw  to  be  the  footprints  of  some  grown 
person.  The  tracks  were  running  directly  across 
my  path,  and  whereas  I  had  been  pursuing  my  mad 
course  to  the  southwest,  the  footprints  of  this  un- 
known person  were  pointing  toward  the  southeast. 

I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  they  were 
Sonnlein's  and  yet  I  know  not  why  I  suddenly  de- 
termined to  follow  them.  It  may  be  that  all  un- 
consciously something  told  me  they  were  the  foot- 
prints of  our  Brother  Alburtus  who  but  a  few  days 
before  had  disappeared  again  from  the  community 
so  that  at  the  time  in  my  own  trouble  I  had  pairl 
little  heed  to  his  absence. 

As  I  went  on,  the  tracks,  showing  clearly  in  the 

R 


BROTHER    ALBURTUS  243 

horrified  to  see  at  one  side  of  this  great  rock  the 
cloaked  form  of  our  Brother  Alburtus  prostrate  in 
the  snow. 

Then  as  I  rushed  to  him  and  lifted  his  head  on 
my  arm  I  saw  the  blood  rushing  freely  from  a  long 
cut  directly  across  his  brow  so  that  I  might  have 
thought  the  scar  he  so  long  carried  had  been 
opened  by  the  force  of  some  fall.  I  could  see  too, 
he  had  not  been  hurt  long,  for  the  blood  flowed  too 
freely  for  that.  With  the  pity  and  horror  in  my 
heart  was  also  a  strong  feeling  of  guilt  that  we  had 
so  carelessly  let  our  brother  leave  us  without  fol- 
lowing and  protecting  him  in  his  aimless  wan- 
derings. 

When  first  I  lifted  up  his  head  I  saw  that  he 
was  unconscious,  but  I  wiped  away  the  blood  as 
best  I  could  and  bound  the  ugly  wound  with  pieces 
from  my  cloak,  and  then  rubbed  his  face  with  snow. 
After  a  long  while  he  opened  his  eyes  and  looked 
at  me  wonderingly. 

"  'Tis  thy  Brother  Jabez,"  I  said  gently;  but  he 
only  looked  at  me  with  meaningless  gaze,  his  hands 
lying  so  still  and  helpless  it  would  have  rejoiced 
me  to  see  him  rub  them  together  as  of  old. 

Again  I  spake  to  him,  "  Dost  not  know  me, 
Brother  Alburtus  ? "  But  still  he  seemed  not 
to  regard  my  words,  and  leaving  him  for  a  brief 
space,  fearing  his  lying  in  the  snow  would  be  his 
death  even  if  the  wound  would  not,  I  brake  from 


244  A    TALE    0F    THE    KLOSTER 

the  trees  and  bushes  about  me  armful  after  armful 
of  twigs  and  branches  making  a  bed  of  them  on 
the  southern  side  of  the  rock  where  he  would  be 
sheltered  from  the  cold  winds  and  we  could  catch 
the  warmth  of  the  sun  shining  down  through  the 
trees.  Then  I  dragged  him  tenderly  upon  his 
rough  bed  making  him  as  comfortable  as  I  could, 
rubbing  his  hands  to  warm  them  and  then  putting 
them  within  his  cloak  so  they  might  not  freeze, 
during  all  of  which  he  seemed  not  to  pay  the 
slightest  attention  to  me. 

After  a  long  wait  he  tried  to  lift  his  head,  and  I 
said  to  him,  "  Art  feeling  better,  Brother  Al- 
burtus  ? "  whereat  he  looked  at  me  in  great  won- 
derment and  said  weakly,  "  Dost  not  know  me, 
Thomas  ?  Where  am  I  ?  What  is  wrong  with 
my  head  ?  " 

"  He  mistaketh  me  for  our  Brother  Thomas," 
thought  I,  and  so  I  said  smiling  to  him,  "  Nay,  'tis 
Brother  Jabez ;  thou  hast  wandered  from  our 
Kloster  and  hast  fallen  from  this  high  rock, 
Brother  Alburtus." 

But  he  only  glared  at  me  as  he  replied  in  such 
weak  anger  that  my  heart  smote  me,  "  Why  dost 
thou  torment  me  so,  Thomas  ?  Thou  knowest  I 
am  David  Seymour,  thy  own  brother !  " 

"  What  meaneth  he  ?  "  thought  I  to  myself ; 
"surely  his  hurt  hath  taken  his  mind  from  him  so 
he  knoweth  not  he  is  Brother  Alburtus."     Think- 


BROTHER   ALBURTUS  245 

ing  it  best  to  humor  him  I  spake  gently,  "  Yes,  'tis 
thy  brother ;  what  aileth  thee  ?  "  To  which  he  an- 
swered feebly,  "  The  tree  hath  fallen  on  my  head  ; 
take  me  to  the  cabin  to  'Lisbeth  and  the  baby." 

"  Surely,"  thought  I,  "  we  know  not  what  we 
say  when  the  mind  is  wrong,"  but  still  thinking  it 
better  to  humor  him  I  merely  said,  "  Yea,  as  soon 
as  help  cometh  we  shall  carry  thee  to  them," 
whereat  he  smiled  gratefully  and  lay  back  more 
contentedly. 

But  though  I  sat  and  shivered  by  the  side  of 
our  brother  for  hour  after  hour,  sheltering  him 
from  the  cold  with  my  cloak,  I  could  see  as  the 
afternoon  wore  on,  and  his  sighing  and  groaning 
grew  fainter  and  weaker,  that  his  days  were  num- 
bered, and  so  with  the  sun's  setting  behind  the 
hills  to  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  there  was 
opened  for  our  brother's  coming,  not  the  door  of 
his  humble  cabin  but  instead  the  ever-shining  gates 
of  those  mansions  beyond  the  skies  He  hath  pre- 
pared for  his  well-beloved  children. 

But  now  that  the  spirit  of  our  brother  had  left 
its  earthly  prison  house,  I  stood  for  a  few  moments 
and  prayed  earnestly  that  his  soul  might  see  clearly 
that  which  on  earth  had  been  shown  darkly  as 
through  a  glass,  to  our  bewildered  brother. 

Then  it  came  to  me  like  a  great  shock,  what 
was  to  be  done  with  his  body  ?  At  first,  it  seemed 
to  me  I  could  not  let  it  lie  in  these  cold,  dreary 


246  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

mountains.  And  yet  I  could  not  unaided  bear 
him  to  the  Kloster.  Neither  was  I  certain  I  could 
find  my  way  back  on  the  morrow  with  the  Brethren, 
for  these  hills  were  utterly  strange  to  me.  And 
yet,  for  such  was  my  faith,  though  it  may  seem 
harsh  to  some,  why  could  he  not  rest  here  as  well 
as  anywhere  else  ?  The  imperishable,  immortal 
soul  had  gone  to  its  Maker  ;  that  which  remained 
was  merely  the  earthly  shell  that  would  mix  with 
the  elements,  no  matter  where  buried. 

Much  against  my  will  I  finally  persuaded  myself 
I  must  leave  him  in  this  wild,  lonely  spot.  But  I 
could  not  leave  him  exposed  to  the  winds  and  the 
rain  and  the  beasts  of  the  woods,  and  yet  I  had 
nothing  to  dig  up  the  hard  frozen  ground  to  make 
him  a  grave.  And  then  just  as  I  was  about  to 
give  up  in  despair  thinking  I  could  do  no  better 
than  cover  him  with  brush,  I  saw  a  short  distance 
farther  up  the  mountain  two  long  rocks,  meeting 
at  one  end,  but  spread  out  at  the  other  like  a  sharp 
angle,  the  opening  toward  me.  Like  a  flash  it  came 
to  me  I  could  enrich  these  rough  rocks  by  using 
them  as  a  resting-place  for  Brother  Alburtus. 

I  hastened  up  the  hill  and  swept  and  scraped 
the  snow  out  from  between  the  rocks,  making  a 
bed  of  twigs  on  the  hard  earth.  But  it  was  no 
light  task  getting  the  great  form  of  our  brother  up 
that  steep  slope,  and  more  than  once  it  seemed  I 
must  give  up.     But   at  last  I  did  get  him  lying 


BROTHER   ALBURTUS  247 

snugly  between  the  two  huge  stones.  Then  I 
made  a  roof  over  him  by  laying  heavy  branches 
across  the  rocks,  on  top  of  the  branches  placing 
such  heavy  stones  as  I  could  loosen  from  the  hard 
ground.  In  this  manner  I  also  closed  up  the  end 
of  my  brother's  death  Rammer,  and  to  help  me  find 
the  spot,  should  I  have  call  to  revisit  it,  I  rolled  a 
large  stone  at  the  upper  end  of  the  little  vault,  and 
after  a  last  prayer  for  the  soul  of  our  sainted 
brother,  I  left,  sad  at  heart,  but  rejoicing  I  had 
been  able  to  do  these  last  honors  for  our  dead. 

It  was  dark  when  I  started  down  the  mountains 
and  so  rough  and  slippery  was  the  way  I  had  many 
a  fall  ere  I  reached  the  foot ;  but  the  longest  and 
most  toilsome  way  hath  nevertheless  an  end,  and 
though  the  night  was  well  on  when  I  reached  my 
cell,  I  arrived  none  the  less,  safe  and  sound,  only 
that  our  brethren  were  greatly  alarmed  at  my  ab- 
sence, fearing  I  too  had  been  captured  by  the 
Indians. 

At  the  midnight  meeting  I  recounted  to  my 
brethren  the  doings  of  the  day,  the  death  of  Brother 
Alburtus,  but  not  saying  anything  of  his  last  words, 
requesting  rather  consideration  as  to  what  should 
be  done  with  his  body.  As  the  greater  part  of  us 
thought  nothing  could  be  done  while  the  way  was 
so  rough  and  slippery  with  rocks  and  snow,  we 
decided  to  let  our  brother  rest  for  the  time  at  least 
in  his  strange  grave ;  but  we  held  special  services 


248  A   TALE   OF  THE    KLOSTER 

in  his  memory  and  in  his  cell  we  hung,  as  was  our 
custom,  a  tablet,  on  which  were  inscribed  in  beauti- 
ful letters  by  the  Sisterhood  the  words : 

"  Blessed  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death 
of  his  saints." 


CHAPTER  XXII 


SONNLEIN  TAKETH  THE  ORDEAL 


There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  are 
dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy,   Horatio. 

— Shakespeare. 

|VER  a  month  had  passed 
away  since  the  death  of 
our  Brother  Alburtus 
and  his  lonely  burial  far 
up  in  the  mountain.  My 
brethren,  though  at  first 
of  a  mind  to  bring  him  to 
our  little  graveyard  in 
the  meadow,  at  last  re- 
luctantly came  to  my 
way  of  thinking  that  he 
should  be  left  to  rest  undisturbed  where  I  had 
laid  him. 

Often  as  the  days  came  and  went  I  wondered 
what  Sonnlein  would  say  when  he  returned,  to 
find  his  dear  Brother  Alburtus  gone.  Oftener 
still  in  those  dreary  days  I  would  ponder  and  puz- 
zle over  the  dying  words  of  our  brother.  I  could 
understand  how  by  the  great  shock  of  his  fall  he 

249 


25O  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

did  not  know  me,  for  I  had  seen  more  than  once 
what  a  misty  veil  cometh  over  the  sight  of  the 
dying  so  that  they  know  not  at  all  even  their  most 
beloved  ones.  But  what  I  could  not  solve  was 
why  he  called  himself  by  a  name  I  had  never 
heard  before.  Was  David  Seymour  his  own,  right 
name  or  the  name  of  some  friend  of  earlier  days, 
and  did  our  brother  in  his  last  moments  imagine 
himself  that  other  one?  And  'Lisbeth  and  the 
baby,  were  these  wife  and  child,  or  merely  long- 
buried  memories  of  acquaintances  revived  in  the 
very  shadow  of  death  ?  With  all  my  pondering  and 
puzzling  I  could  not  solve  the  matter,  and  gradually 
it  left  me,  though  never  wholly  cast  aside. 

Indeed,  with  the  wandering  away  of  our  Brother 
Alburtus  and  his  dying  up  in  those  lonely  moun- 
tains, and  the  loss  of  our  Genoveva  and  my  boy, 
my  cup  of  woe  was  well-nigh  running  over.  The 
winter  was  now  on  the  wane,  almost  three  months 
having  elapsed  since  Sister  Genoveva  and  Sonn- 
lein  had  gone,  and  still  we  knew  no  more  than 
when  they  left  us  ;  for  though  our  justice  kept  me 
and  our  little  Kloster  in  most  affectionate  remem- 
brance, I  receiving  many  letters  from  him  in  all 
his  great  work  and  responsibility,  yet  he  had  noth- 
ing to  tell  us  other  than  not  to  lose  faith  and  cour- 
age ;  and  for  this  we  loved  him,  even  though  he 
gave  us  no  knowledge  of  our  lost  ones. 

But  surely  it  is  cowardly  and  ungrateful  in  man 


SONNLEIN    TAKETH    THE    ORDEAL  25I 

or  woman  to  complain  because  the  infinite  Father 
doth  not  always  explain  to  our  narrow,  little  minds 
why  and  wherefore  he  doeth  this  or  that,  for  I 
have  ever  found  that  if  one  will  but  possess  his 
soul  in  patience  and  cease  repining  and  keep  on 
doing  his  work  all  will  come  out  right  in  the  end. 

So  on  a  beautiful  moonlight  night,  after  I  had 
retired  to  my  Katntner,  shortly  after  the  midnight 
services  and  had  fallen  into  my  usual  sound  sleep, 
I  felt,  or  at  first  dreamt  I  felt,  a  shaking  of  my 
arm  ;  but  as  I  was  about  to  turn  over  in  my  drowsy 
state,  I  received  another  shake  of  the  arm,  this 
time  so  decided  I  no  longer  doubted  I  was  awake. 
As  I  sat  up  more  frightened  than  I  care  to  tell,  I 
saw  bending  over  me  a  form — surely  it  could  not 
be !  but  then  as  I  heard  my  boy  call  me,  "  Vater- 
chen"  with  such  sadness  and  despair  and  weari- 
ness in  his  voice  as  I  thought  would  make  my 
heart  burst  with  very  pity  for  him,  I  clasped  him 
in  my  arms  and  kissed  him  and  wept  over  him  as 
some  mother  over  a  long-lost  child.  Such  a  sim- 
pleton was  I,  as  all  will  agree,  and  yet  I  doubt  not 
I  should  do  the  same  thing  over  again  were  there 
similar  occasion  for  it. 

I  know  not  to  this  day  whether  or  not  my  boy 
wept,  but  his  voice  was  soft  and  gentle  as  a 
woman's  as  he  said  to  me,  "  I  could  not  wait  till 
morning." 

"If  thou  hadst  let  me  sleep  till  morning  and 


252  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

not  know  of  thy  coming  I  would  never  have  for- 
given thee,"  I  assured  him  joyfully,  holding  him 
by  the  arms.  And  then  I  turned  toward  the  door 
of  my  Kammer,  and  was  opening  it  when  he  said, 
"  Where  art  going  ?  Surely  thou'rt  not  tired  of 
me  so  soon  ? " 

"  Nay,  to  tell  our  leader  and  the  Brothers  and 
Sisters  of  thy  return.  It  were  selfish  to  keep  all 
this  great  joy  to  myself,"  and  again  I  turned  toward 
the  door,  first  lighting  my  fat  lamp ;  but  then  as 
the  flame  grew  up  I  saw  my  boy  was  so  faint  and 
weak  he  would  have  fallen  to  the  floor  had  I  not 
caught  him  to  me  and  helped  him  to  my  bench,  mak- 
ing him  as  easy  as  our  hard  life  would  allow. 

And  surely  I  was  well  repaid  for  what  I  had 
suffered  in  all  these  months  ;  for  as  I  lay  down  on 
the  floor  of  my  cell — not  finding  it  to  my  liking  to 
let  him  go  to  his  own — he  whispered  tenderly  be- 
fore he  dropped  off  to  sleep,  "  Thou'rt  the  same 
old  Vaterchen ;"  and  this  praise,  with  my  poor 
weakness  for  kind  words,  I  held  snug  and  warm 
in  my  heart  for  many  a  year. 

Thus  we  both  slept  long  into  the  morning,  only 
for  once  in  my  life  I  slept  not  so  soundly ;  for  I 
could  hear  that  Sonnlein  was  tossing  and  murmur- 
ing in  his  sleep,  contrary  to  his  former  habit,  for 
like  me  he  had  always  been  good  at  sleeping. 

With  the  bright  light  of  the  morning  I  saw 
plainly  now  what  his  voice  and  bearing  had  told 


S0NNLE1N    TAKETH    THE    ORDEAL  253 

me  but  faintly  in  the  night ;  for  as  he  lay  asleep, 
stirring  often  uneasily  I  could  see  that  he  was  but 
a  mere  skeleton,  his  face  gaunt  and  haggard,  with 
great  hollows  under  the  deep  set  eyes,  and  the 
beard  he  had  let  grow  was  tangled  and  unkempt. 
A  sudden  fear  clutched  my  heart  that  he  had  come 
home  but  to  die. 

But  truly  the  healing  powers  God  hath  placed 
in  these  bodies  of  ours  are  wonderful  things  to  set 
us  straight  if  they  be  given  a  chance  to  work  in 
peace  and  quiet;  for  though  I  must  spread  the 
joyful  news  of  Sonnlein's  return  to  our  leader  and 
all  the  Brethren,  not  forgetting  the  Sisters,  who 
were  of  a  mind  to  make  a  great  hero  of  my  boy, 
and  though  the  Brethren  passed  my  cell  more 
quietly  than  ever  often  during  the  day,  not  one 
with  all  the  desire  to  give  him  greeting  would  dis- 
turb his  rest ;  for  he  slept  on  until  evening,  not 
even  waking  ere  then  to  take  the  lamb's  broth  our 
prioress  had  prepared  for  him. 

But  early  in  the  night  he  sat  up,  and  said, 
"  Such  a  sleep  have  I  not  had  for  many  a  day." 

"Art  not  hungry?"  I  asked  anxiously,  "shall  I 
not  warm  this  lamb's  broth  Mutter  Maria  hath 
made  for  thee  ? " 

"  Blessings  on  our  good  Mutter  Maria !  "  he 
cried  out  with  some  return  of  his  old,  fun-loving 
spirit,  "but  if  thou  lovest  me,"  he  said,  as  he 
gulped  down  greedily  the  broth — and    I    dislike 


254  A  TALE  0F  THE  KL0STEtl 

hasty  feeding — "  bring  me  the  lamb  itself,  for  I 
am  hungry  as  a  wolf." 

And,  indeed,  when  I  did  coax  our  good  prioress 
to  give  me  such  a  load  of  things  as  she  declared  was 
not  safe  to  give  him,  it  did  seem  to  me  as  though  I 
had  food  enough  for  ten  men  ;  but  he  merely 
smiled  when  I  cautioned  him  against  eating  all 
this  stuff,  and  in  less  time  than  I  can  tell  it  he  had 
actually  eaten  up  everything  so  clean  not  a  crumb 
was  left,  so  that  I  had  not  been  surprised  had  he 
lifted  the  dishes  to  his  face  and  licked  them  off,  as 
he  had  often  done  in  his  childhood. 

Thus  for  a  few  days  I  made  him  take  abun- 
dance of  rest  and  sleep,  and  between  the  Sisters 
and  me  he  suffered  not  for  food,  but  I  refrained 
from  asking  anything  of  his  absence,  thinking  it 
better  to  wait  until  he  were  more  himself  again. 

But  one  evening,  as  we  were  sitting  in  my  Ram- 
mer, about  a  week  after  his  return,  neither  of  us 
saying  a  word  for  a  long  while — for  with  all  his 
lively  nature  he  was  never  so  garrulous  as  I — not 
being  able  to  curb  my  curiosity  longer,  I  finally 
asked  him,  "  What  hast  thou  learned  of  our  Sister 
Genoveva  ? " 

"Nothing,"  he  replied  sadly,  "though  I  have 
sought  everywhere  for  her." 

"  Hast  been  among  the  Indians  ?  " 

"  Yea,  and  more  than  one  of  the  French  devils 
hath  gone  to  his  long  home,"  he  replied  savagely. 


SONNLEIN    TAKETH    THE    ORDEAL  255 

"  Hast  been  among  the  Conestogas  ?  "  these 
being  a  peaceful  Indian  tribe  living  in  a  little 
town  or  village  not  many  miles  beyond  Lancaster, 
toward  the  Susquehanna. 

"  I  went  there  straight  on  leaving  thee,  for  that 
way  pointed  the  footprints." 

"  Could  the  Conestogas  tell  thee  nothing  ?  " 

"  Nay,  could  not  or  would  not — I  know  not 
which — though  a  half-witted  one  whispered  to  me 
when  he  thought  none  could  hear,  that  he  knew 
where  the  white  sister  was  ;  but  on  pressing  him 
for  fuller  knowledge  he  merely  pointed  back  toward 
the  northeast,  whence  I  had  come,  saying,  '  Up, 
high,  with  old  woman,'  but  I  paid  no  great  heed 
to  him,  for  he  was  not  right  in  his  head." 

"  That  night  what  didst  thou  make  of  the  foot- 
prints ? " 

"  One  was  Genoveva's,  that  was  plain  to  be 
seen  ;  the  largest,  an  Indian  warrior's ;  the  third, 
a  squaw's  or  young  Indian  lad's,  I  have  never 
made  up  my  mind  which,"  and  then  he  said  nothing 
more  for  a  long  while,  but  at  last  he  looked  at  me 
suddenly,  saying  as  though  much  puzzled,  "  Would 
that  I  knew  what  the  half-witted  one  meant ;  it  hath 
been  with  me  day  and  night  lately,  so  that  I  had 
no  other  will  in  me  than  to  come  back,  for  it  is  in 
my  mind  that  Genoveva,  if  she  be  still  alive,  is 
not  far  away."  After  a  bit  he  looked  up  at  me  as 
though  he  were  ashamed  to  ask,  "  Dost  believe, 


256  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Vaterclien,  that  if  she  be  nigh  her  spirit  hath  called 
me  back  ? " 

To  which  I  could  only  say,  "  I  know  not,  though 
there  be  among  us  who  claim  they  have  had  such 
communication,  both  with  the  living  and  the  dead." 

And  then  in  all  the  simpleness  of  a  boy  he 
asked,  "  Dost  think  our  sister  was  caught  up  into 
the  heavens  like  Elijah  ?  " 

Ere  I  knew  what  I  was  saying  I  replied  with 
some  heat,  for  his  question  seemed  like  blasphemy 
to  me,  "  Nay,  nay,  Elijah  was  a  saint !  " 

"  Dost  mean  Genoveva  was  not  good  enough  to 
be  taken  up  like  old  Elijah  ? "  he  cried  out  angrily 
at  me,  as  he  had  never  yet  spoken  to  me. 

"  Quietly,  my  Sonnlein,  quietly  ;  my  reply  meant 
not  that  I  think  not  highly  of  our  sister ;  but 
though  we  have  holy  writ  that  Elijah  was  trans- 
lated, yet  there  have  been,  as  thou  knowest,  many 
good  men  and  women  since  that  time  who  have 
had  to  go  to  heaven  by  way  of  the  gates  of  death. 
I  do  not  think  our  Genoveva  was  taken  up  to 
heaven,  and  in  this  I  mean  no  disrespect." 

But  he  heeded  not  the  gentle  reproof  in  my 
voice,  and  after  a  while  he  asked,  "  Dost  believe  in 
the  state  of  innocence  taught  by  Brother  Onesimus 
and  his  brethren  while  they  were  with  us,  and  of 
whom  thou  hast  told  me  so  often  ?  " 

"  Nay,  I  ne'er  had  much  faith  in  their  heathenish 
practices,"  I  replied  shortly. 


SONNLEIN    TAKETH    THE    ORDEAL  257 

Still  he  persisted,  "  They  who  pass  through  the 
ordeal  of  purification  come  forth  with  limitless 
vision  and  with  mental  powers  unbounded." 

"  Who  hath  infected  thee  with  this  disease  ? "  I 
asked  crossly. 

"  I  remember  now  that  the  day  before  Genoveva 
was  taken  from  us  Brother  Benno,  who  was  one 
of  the  thirteen  that  took  the  ordeal — and  thou 
hast  said  thyself  he  was  of  the  number — told 
me  that  since  he  had  been  purified  he  had  often 
spoken  to  the  spirit  of  his  dead  mother,  and  hath 
from  here  even  seen  his  brother,  who  liveth  in 
the  Vaterland." 

"  Brother  Benno  is  an  exceedingly  pious  man," 
was  all  I  could  say. 

"  Dost  not  believe  he  speaketh  the  truth  ? " 

"  To  the  contrary  I  should  be  the  last  to  doubt 
his  word ;  but  in  my  short  stay  on  earth  I  have  heard 
pious  men  and  women  tell  of  things  which  to  my 
thick  understanding  were  not  possible.  It  never 
seemed  to  me  that  man  or  woman  could  in  the 
short  space  of  forty  days  attain  to  physical  and 
spiritual  perfection.  What  I  have  seen  of  my 
fellow-man  compelleth  me  to  hold  that  even  the 
longest  lifetime  is  much  too  short  for  the  making 
of  ourselves  in  any  wise  so  much  as  near  perfect." 

But  he  only  replied  slowly,  as  if  not  convinced, 
"  Still  Brother  Benno  may  be  right ;  at  least  it  can 
do  no  harm  to  try." 


258  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"  Try  what  ? "  I  said  very  quietly  to  hide  my 
dread  his  remark  had  put  in  me. 

"The  ordeal.  I  have  tried  everything  else. 
This  one  thing  remains  for  me  to  do." 

To  which  I  made  stern  answer,  "All  this  non- 
sense cometh  from  the  Evil  One ;  thou  art  tired,  dis- 
couraged, worn  out  in  body  and  spirit.  Rest  for  a 
few  days,  and  with  new  strength  and  courage  thou 
wilt  have  no  inclination  for  such  foolishness." 

To  which  he  made  no  reply,  but  I  could  see  his 
mind  was,  with  all  his  love  for  me,  set  on  going 
through  this  pernicious  thing.  And  that  it  may 
be  known  why  I  dreaded  this  ordeal,  which  I  hoped 
after  the  Eckerlings  left  us  would  never  be  under- 
gone again  by  any  of  us,  I  shall  set  forth  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  neophyte  sought  first  physical 
regeneration,  in  order  that  he  might  be  properly 
prepared  for  moral  regeneration,  and  thus  attain 
perfection. 

This  was  the  way  of  it :  the  seeker  for  per- 
fection must  with  a  single  attendant  retire  to  a  hut 
or  cave  in  the  forest  on  the  night  of  the  full  moon 
in  the  month  of  May,  and  for  forty  days  live  thus 
secluded  in  fasting  and  prayer.  No  drink  was 
allowed  other  than  rain  water  which  had  fallen 
during  the  month  of  May.  This  and  dry  bread 
crusts  were  all  the  nourishment  the  neophyte  could 
have.  After  being  weakened  by  such  rigid  fast- 
ing for  sixteen  days,  on  the  following  day  the  re- 


SONNLEIN    TAKETH    THE   ORDEAL  259 

cluse,  that  his  physical  nature  might  be  further 
subjugated,  had  several  ounces  of  blood  taken  from 
him,  after  which  certain  white  drops  were  admin- 
istered, though  what  their  composition  I  never 
cared  to  know,  only  it  was  not  poisonous,  and 
for  this  remnant  of  good  sense  I  give  cheerfully 
to  the  originators  of  this  iniquitous  ordeal  their 
proper  dues. 

Six  drops  of  this  elixir,  which  was  prepared 
only  by  adepts,  were  taken  at  night  and  a  like 
quantity  mornings,  the  dose  being  increased  by 
two  drops  a  day  until  the  thirty-second  day  when 
some  more  blood  was  drawn  upon  the  rising  of 
the  sun,  the  seeker  for  perfection  then  retiring  to 
his  couch  to  remain  there  until  the  completion  of 
the  forty  days. 

At  sunrise  of  the  following  day,  being  the 
thirty-third,  the  first  grain  of  materia  prima  was 
to  be  taken,  this  being  the  universal  and  invisible 
principle  out  of  which  God  made  all  things  and 
which  he  had  created  to  confer  immortality  upon 
man  when  first  made  in  paradise,  but  which  sub- 
stance, by  reason  of  man's  fall,  was  lost  to  the 
race,  only  to  be  thereafter  obtained  by  favor  of 
such  adepts  as  were  within  the  highest  circles  of 
the  Rosicrucian  brotherhood. 

My  hope  is  that  they  who  may  care  to  read  this 
tale  will  have  more  patience  in  the  reading  of  this 
Rosicrucian   folly  than   I  have  had  in  the  writing 


260  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

of  it ;  for  surely,  whenever  I  think  of  this  worst  of 
all  wickedness  inflicted  on  us  by  the  Eckerlings,  it 
requireth  all  the  Kloster  restraint  and  moderation 
to  keep  me  from  strong  and  strange  words. 

But  spiteful  words  seldom  cure  things,  so  I 
shall  tell  of  this  materia  prima  ;  for  such  was  its 
power  that  the  moment  the  neophyte  took  it  he 
lost  all  speech  and  recollection.  Three  hours 
later  convulsions  and  heavy  transudation  set  in. 
After  these  subsided,  the  serving  Brother  changed 
the  couch  and  a  broth  made  from  lean  beef  and 
sundry  herbs  was  given.  On  the  next  day  another 
grain  of  the  materia  prima  was  taken,  in  a  cup  of 
this  broth,  after  which  in  addition  to  the  convul- 
sions and  transudations  a  delirious  fever  would  set 
in,  which  ended  with  a  complete  loss  or  shedding 
of  the  skin,  hair,  and  teeth  of  the  subject. 

On  the  thirty-fifth  day  a  bath  of  a  certain  tem- 
perature was  given  the  neophyte  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  the  third  and  last  grain  of  the  materia 
prima  was  taken  in  a  cup  of  precious  wine,  after 
which  the  seeker  fell  into  a  gentle,  undisturbed 
sleep,  during  which  a  new  skin  appeared,  and  also 
the  hair  and  teeth  shed  two  days  before  were 
miraculously  renewed.  On  his  awakening  he  was 
placed  in  an  aromatic  herb  bath. 

On  the  thirty-eighth  day  of  the  ordeal  an  ordi- 
nary water  bath  in  which  saltpeter  had  been  dis- 
solved was  taken,  the  votary  then  resuming  his 


SONNLEIN  TAKETH  THE  ORDEAL      26 1 

habit  and  exercising  his  limbs,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  ten  drops  of  the  elixir  of  life,  or  "  grand- 
master's elixir  "  or  "  balsam  "  were  administered 
in  two  large  spoonfuls  of  red  wine. 

The  fortieth  day  ended  the  period  of  perfection, 
and  the  votary  being  now  restored  to  the  state  of 
innocence  man  had  before  the  fall,  left  his  hut  or 
cell  with  the  power  to  lengthen  his  earthly  existence 
to  the  limit  of  five  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  years,  in  perfect  health  and  contentment. 

After  this  came  the  forty  days  moral  regener- 
ation, which  if  successfully  passed,  gave  the  seeker 
power  to  communicate  with  the  spirit  world. 

Small  wonder  that  I  was  strongly  set  against 
this  perilous  and  utterly  foolish  thing.  But  I 
found  the  next  day  Sonnlein  was  stubbornly  re- 
solved he  would  undergo  it  ;  and  though  I  had 
great  comfort  in  the  thought  that  it  wanted  some 
months  ere  May  were  here,  yet,  even  this  solace 
was  quickly  denied  me,  as  he  declared  his  intention 
of  suffering  the  purification  at  once.  To  this 
even  our  poor,  benighted  Brother  Benno  objected, 
for  he  held  that  the  slightest  deviation  from  the 
prescribed  particulars  of  the  process  would  render 
the  whole  without  avail. 

But  as  Sonnlein  declared  he  would  go  off  in  the 
woods  and  take  the  ordeal  himself — and  I  knew  in 
his  sicklied  state  he  would  do  so — Brother  Benno 
and     I    finally    compromised    with    the    stubborn 


262  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

youth  by  going  to  "  Ararat,"  the  second  floor  of 
Zion,  where  Sonnlein  took  one  of  the  thirteen 
cells  for  himself  while  Brother  Benno  and  I  each 
took  an  adjoining  cell. 

Here  in  this  deserted  old  chapter  house,  relic 
of  the  pride  and  folly  of  the  poor  Eckerlings,  we 
lived  all  alone  for  almost  a  week,  and  never  in  my 
life  was  week  longer  ;  for  though  Brother  Benno 
and  I  attended  all  the  services,  yet  the  solicitude 
of  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  was  such — they  be- 
lieving that  we  had  moved  Sonnlein  to  the  hill  for 
purer  air  in  his  illness — that  Brother  Benno  and 
I  were  not  permitted  to  do  any  of  our  usual  work. 

This,  indeed,  suited  our  purpose  most  oppor- 
tunely, for  Brother  Benno  desired  to  keep  constant 
watch  over  the  treatment,  while  I  was  resolved  to 
keep  strict  watch  over  my  boy's  safety. 

Thus  the  first  day,  the  second,  and  the  third 
and  even  the  fourth,  and  the  fifth  day  passed,  dur- 
ing all  of  which  I  was  not  permitted  once  to  see 
my  boy.  Nor  did  I  even  hear  anything,  for 
Brother  Benno  and  Sonnlein  dared  not  so  much  as 
exchange  a  word.  Only  that  on  every  opportunity 
I  would  seek  Brother  Benno  and  in  a  whisper,  so 
my  boy  could  not  hear,  would  I  get  report  of  him, 
Brother  Benno  invariably  saying  Sonnlein  was  a 
most  obedient  votary  and  that  he  was  in  good 
health,  though  weak.  Thus  I  allowed  myself  to 
become  a  sharer  in  this  wicked  thing. 


SONNLEIN    TAKETH    THE   ORDEAL  263 

But  on  the  night  of  the  fifth  day,  after  coming 
from  our  midnight  devotions,  Brother  Benno  hav- 
ing given  me  his  usual  favorable  report,  I  sought 
repose  in  my  cell,  though  it  seemed  as  I  lay  awake 
for  a  long  time  I  could  hear  Sonnlein  turning  un- 
easily in  his  cell  and  murmuring  continually  in  a 
great  fever.  Then  for  a  long  while  all  was  quiet 
only  that  I  thought  I  could  hear  him  breathing 
heavily  in  his  sleep.  Reassured  by  this  I  dropped 
off  into  a  heavy  sleep,  for  in  my  anxiety  I  had 
kept  vigil  in  my  Kammer  almost  every  night.  It 
seemed  to  me  I  had  not  slept  long,  but  I  know 
now  I  slept  almost  until  daybreak,  when  in  my 
sleeping  I  heard  a  rumbling  like  thunder  and  then 
as  a  flash  of  lightning  illumined  my  narrow  cell, 
followed  closely  by  a  crash  of  thunder — for  such 
storms  have  we  at  times  even  in  winter — I  jumped 
up  fully  awake  and  shaking  like  a  leaf,  though  I 
never  feared  much  the  noise  of  thunder.  And 
then  without  knowing  what  I  was  doing  and  heed- 
less of  Brother  Benno's  injunctions,  I  rushed  into 
Sonnlein's  cell,  my  heart  almost  standing  still  as  I 
noted  in  all  the  darkness  that  he  was  gone ! 

I  rushed  madly  for  Brother  Benno's  cell,  but  my 
agitated  steps  had  roused  him  from  his  slumber, 
and  as  I  met  him  in  the  corrider  I  clutched  him  so 
that  he  shrank  from  me  in  fear  as  I  howled  at 
him,  "  Sonnlein,  my  boy,  where  is  he  ?  "  and  then 
ere  my  startled  brother  could  reply  I  heard  from 


264  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

down  the  meadows,  mingling  with  the  crashing, 
and  rumbling  of  the  thunder  Sonnlein's  voice  cry- 
ing out  again  and  again,  "  Genoveva  !  Genoveva  !  " 

I  know  not  how  I  got  out  of  Zion  or  whether 
or  not  Brother  Benno  was  following  as  I  darted 
down  the  hill  for  the  Cocalico,  once  in  a  flash  of 
lightning  imagining  I  saw  my  boy  plunge  into  the 
creek  for  the  other  side.  But  though  I  ran  to  the 
spot  in  all  the  darkness  and  the  storm  and  though 
I  rushed  wildly  through  the  stream,  and  into  the 
woods  on  the  farther  side,  all  the  while  crying  out 
his  name,  I  had  no  reply,  and  at  last  feeling  now 
as  though  I  had  indeed  more  than  I  could  bear,  I 
returned  half-dazed  to  my  cell  in  Bethania,  not 
wishing  ever  again  to  set  foot  in  that  house  of  evil 
on  the  hill. 

Brother  Benno  informed  all  the  Brothers  and  the 
Sisters  that  Sonnlein  had  wandered  away  in  his 
sickness  and  though  everybody  in  the  Kloster  and 
also  the  good  neighbors  sought  most  earnestly  and 
lovingly,  even  wading  the  icy  creek  for  him,  think- 
ing most  likely  he  had  been  drowned,  naught  of 
anything  was  found  of  my  boy. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

A    MIDNIGHT    VISIT 

In  the  meantime  the  wants  of  the  body  are  also  to  be  re- 
strained and  attention  given  so  that  the  voice  become  angelic, 
heavenly,  pure,  and  clear,  and  not  strong  and  harsh,  by  a 
coarseness  of  food,  and  consequently  prove  valueless.  But  to 
gain  the  right  tone,  so  that  no  unseemingly  harsh  screeching 
and  creaking  be  heard  in  place  of  the  proper  melody. 

— Brother  Beissel. 


URELY  God's  ways  for 
setting  things  right  are 
not  the  ways  of  man's 
narrow  wisdom !  How 
often  doth  he  take  the 
lowly,  simple,  and  even 
hideous  things  of  earth 
to  confuse  the  lofty  and 
the  wise  whose  faith  and 
love  have  been  weakened 
with  much  learning. 
A  number  of  weeks  had  gone  by  since  Sonnlein 
had  been  swallowed  up  in  the  wilds,  for  in  truth 
he  could  not  have  left  less  trace  of  himself  than  if 
the  earth  had  opened  up  and  engulfed  him  ;  but 
finally  the    mystery  was    solved,  and    if    I    come 

265 


266  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

slowly  to  the  mark  I  humbly  ask  the  forgiveness 
of  all  those  who  are  not  inclined  to  wait  patiently 
for  an  old  man's  laggard  step.  Thus  it  came 
about.  From  the  very  founding  of  our  Kloster  we 
paid  great  attention  to  music,  especially  singing, 
and  I  would  that  I  had  time  and  space  to  write 
fully  about  the  system  of  music  invented  by  our 
leader,  with  the  assistance  of  one  of  our  house- 
fathers, Ludwig  Blum,  who  was  a  master  singer 
and  also  versed  in  composition. 

But  as  we  had  been  careful  in  everything  else 
to  conform  as  little  as  possible  to  the  spirit  of  the 
world,  instead  shaping  ourselves  in  everything  to 
the  heavenly  spirit,  so  also  it  was  in  respect  to 
singing.  As  hath  been  said,  " Musicam  divini 
quid  spirare"  if  she  sounds  out  the  praises  of  the 
Most  High,  for  which  purpose  she  is  solely  calcu- 
lated ;  so  that  we  like  not  to  see  her  noble  character 
abused  by  theatrical  diversions  and  her  heavenly 
sweetness  marred  by  their  curled  compositions  ; 
for  it  is  well  known  they  sometimes  dwell  two 
minutes  on  one  syllable  which  is  nothing  else  than 
a  great  nonsense.  We  also  held  it  to  be  a  great 
mistake  to  join  all  sorts  of  instruments  with  vocal 
music,  without  consideration,  thereby  eclipsing  the 
dignity  of  the  human  voice ;  for  the  human  voice 
is  a  most  noble  instrument,  by  which  man  may 
reveal  his  most  intimate  recesses  ;  for  when  God 
made  himself  known  in  his  created  work  he  spake 


A    MIDNIGHT   VISIT  267 

the  word,  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and  surely  it  was 
far  more  sublime  than  if  it  had  been  announced 
with  a  flourish  of  braying  instruments. 

For  this  reason  we  at  Ephrata  did  not  concern 
ourselves  greatly  about  instrumental  music,  though 
indeed,  when  our  superintendent  prepared  our  sys- 
tem of  music  he  knew  very  little  except  some 
notes  which  he  had  learned  on  the  violin ;  but 
such  was  our  leader's  genius  and  his  independence 
of  spirit  and  energy  that  instead  of  borrowing  any- 
thing from  the  so-called  masters  he  took  his  style 
from  the  music  of  nature,  our  singing,  in  a  word, 
being  an  imitation  of  the  JEolisui  harp.  Naturally, 
'twas  a  style  very  peculiar,  as  the  worldly  minded 
regard  things,  in  concords  and  execution,  the  tones 
issuing  from  the  choir  like  very  soft  instrumental 
music  and  carrying  such  a  sweetness  and  softness 
and  spirit  of  devotion  as  seemed  almost  superhu- 
man to  the  listener. 

To  carry  out  this  idea  of  the  yEolian  harp,  the 
music  was  set  in  two,  four,  five,  and  sometimes 
even  seven  parts.  All  these,  save  the  bass,  which 
was  set  in  two  parts,  high  and  low,  were  led  and 
sung  exclusively  by  the  females,  the  men's  voices 
resembling  the  deep  tones  of  the  organ  and  in 
combination  with  one  of  the  female  parts  produ- 
cing a  contrast  which  was  an  excellent  imitation  of 
the  hautboy. 

And  in  the  perfection  of  this  heavenly  art  we 


268  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

spent  much  time  and  labor,  for  we  felt  that  we 
were  no  greater  than  the  angels,  who  themselves 
when  they  sang  at  the  birth  of  Christ  had  to  make 
use  of  such  rules  as  we  employed ;  and  for  that 
we  held  music  was  truly  an  angelic  art  our  leader 
gave  us  very  many  rules,  especially  as  to  our  diet, 
for  the  refining  of  our  voices.  The  Brothers  and 
Sisters  being  formed  into  different  singing  classes, 
were  each  put  upon  a  distinct  diet  with  the  inten- 
tion so  to  affect  the  vocal  cords  and  mold  them 
that  they  would  give  forth  the  required  pitch  as- 
signed to  each  class. 

Thus  the  diet  for  the  bass  singers  was  entirely 
different  from  that  of  the  tenors,  while  the  second 
bass  and  the  baritone  varied  as  greatly  as  that 
selected  for  the  soprano  and  the  alto,  and  it  being 
absolutely  necessary  to  know  what  sorts  of  foods 
quicken  the  spirit  and  make  the  voice  subtle  and 
thin  and  to  the  contrary  make  the  voice  coarse 
and  sluggish  and  heavy,  our  leader  took  great  care 
that  all  those  selected  to  sing  should  abstain  from 
the  use  of  foods  which  in  great  injustice  man  is 
accustomed  to  take  from  the  animals,  such  as  milk, 
which  causeth  one  heaviness  and  uneasiness ;  and 
cheese  which  maketh  one  fiery  and  hot-brained; 
and  butter,  which  maketh  one  so  lazy  and  stolid 
one  desires  neither  to  sing  nor  pray;  and  eggs, 
which  awaken  various  and  evil  desires  ;  and  even 
honey  was  forbidden,  for  as  our  brother  held  that 


A    MIDNIGHT   VISIT  269 

though  this  sweet  essence  of  the  flowers  causeth 
light  eyes  and  a  cheerful  spirit,  it  maketh  the  voice 
not  clear. 

Even  among  the  vegetables  we  had  not  free 
scope,  for  beans  came  under  the  ban  as  being  too 
weighty  a  food  and  making  one  heavy  in  spirit ; 
but  above  all  things  our  leader  held  that  the  spirit 
of  this  art  since  it  is  of  such  virgin  purity  can 
suffer  no  love  between  man  and  woman  ;  for  love 
in  young  hearts  inflames  them  so  exceedingly  as 
to  make  the  sufferers  entirely  unfit  in  mind  and 
heart  and  voice  and  spirit.  And,  indeed,  to  this 
extent  I  agree  fully  with  our  leader,  that  people  in 
love  are  not  only  useless  for  music  but  for  almost 
everything  else. 

As  to  drink,  our  brother  taught  it  had  been  set- 
tled long  ago  that  in  the  straight  path  there  is 
naught  hath  greater  righteousness  than  the  inno- 
cent, pure  water  just  as  it  comes  from  the  well,  or 
made  into  soup  to  which  a  little  bread  was  added. 
Otherwise,  all  cookery  whereby  water  is  deprived 
of  its  beneficent  nature  and  changed  by  unseem- 
ing  art  into  a  sort  of  delicacy  our  leader  ever  re- 
garded as  sinful,  an  abomination  of  abominations. 

After  our  leader  had  assumed  the  role  of  Capell- 
meister,  singing  schools  were  held  upon  certain 
evenings  in  the  Sister  House,  the  sessions  lasting 
four  hours,  during  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth,  and 
sixth    hours,  corresponding  in  wordly  time    from 


270  A   TALE   OF    THE    KLOSTER 

eight  o'clock  to  midnight ;  and  so  on  this  night, 
the  brethren  being  in  snow-white  garments,  which 
our  ruler  insisted  upon  as  representing  the  neces- 
sary purity  of  heart  and  mind,  he  himself  strictly 
adhering  to  this,  met  us  as  usual  at  the  low  door- 
way of  Bethania  and  led  us  in  long  procession  to 
the  Sister  Saal,  the  Sisters  proceeding  thither 
from  Saron  in  the  same  manner,  led  by  the  pri- 
oress. The  Brethren  as  usual  took  their  places, 
being  divided  in  their  respective  classes  about  their 
proper  tables  on  the  floor  of  the  Saal  while  the 
Sisters  took  the  places  set  apart  for  them  behind 
the  latticed  galleries  above. 

It  was  seldom  we  sang  through  an  entire  ses- 
sion of  these  evening  schools  that  some  brother 
or  sister  did  not  receive  a  severe  scolding  from 
our  leader ;  for  he  ruled  these  classes  with  an  iron 
hand,  so  that  often  there  were  bitterest  dissensions 
where  all  should  have  been  peace ;  for  at  the 
slightest  sign  of  levity  or  frivolity  there  would  de- 
scend upon  the  offender  such  an  avalanche  of  re- 
bukes and  scoldings  as  were,  indeed,  hard  to  bear 
even  by  the  meekest  of  us. 

This  night  was  no  exception,  for  though  we  sang 
our  hymns  one  after  the  other  in  the  utmost  peace 
and  order  until  after  the  fifth  hour  (eleven  o'clock), 
suddenly  the  storm  came,  for  our  sisters  Keturah 
and  Priscam,  being  so  busily  engaged  in  some,  I 
doubt  not,  trivial  talk,  noted  not  as  another  hymn 


A    MIDNIGHT   VISIT  27 1 

had  been  taken  up  and  was  passing  around  the 
hall  from  one  class  to  the  other,  that  their  response 
had  come,  and  forgat  utterly  to  sing,  so  that  we 
all  were  fairly  amazed,  and  sat  with  bowed  heads 
for  the  blast  we  knew  would  sweep  over  us ;  and 
instantly  it  came,  so  fiercely  that  if  one  had  not 
known  our  leader  it  might  have  been  thought  he 
were  a  man  of  the  most  violent  and  unchecked 
passions. 

I  had  often  heard  him  scold,  and,  indeed,  had 
more  than  once  felt  the  force  of  his  temper  in  that 
I  had  never  much  voice  for  singing,  and  more  than 
once  was  I  rebuked  for  singing  out  of  tune,  which 
to  our  leader  was  as  great  an  hurt  as  if  one  had 
stuck  him  with  a  sword,  but  this  night  so  outrageous 
was  the  affront  our  poor  sisters  had  given  him  he 
fairly  seemed  beside  himself  with  righteous  rage, 
so  that,  looking  up  at  him  out  of  the  corner  of  my 
eye,  his  figure  with  all  its  insignificance  of  size 
seemed  truly  majestic. 

I  know  not  how  long  we  had  been  compelled  to 
sit  there  shivering  and  cowering  like  disobedient 
children,  when  suddenly  we  heard  a  voice,  to  me 
familiar  enough,  from  the  rear  of  the  hall  near  the 
doorway,  cry  out  half-sneering,  half-snarling,  "Thou 
fool !  "  Then  as  we  all  turned  about,  frightened 
almost  beyond  the  telling  by  this  unearthly  voice, 
we  saw  crouching  in  the  dark  shadows  about  the 
doorway  the  form  of  her  whom,  though  unknown 


272  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

to  the  rest,  I  knew  well  to  be  my  old  enemy,  the 
witch  ;  but  from  the  terrified  Sisters  huddled  to- 
gether in  the  galleries  and  from  the  awe-struck 
Brothers  below  not  a  hand  or  voice  was  lifted 
against  the  apparition,  even  our  fiery  little  leader 
for  the  once  forgetting  his  anger  and  his  fearless- 
ness, making  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  breast  as 
he  shrank  back  from  the  menacing  shape  at  the 
other  end  of  the  Saal. 

For  what  seemed  an  age  she  stood  there  glaring 
at  us.  Then  she  straightened  up  straighter  than 
I  had  ever  seen  her,  and  there  was  in  her  voice 
such  unusual  sadness  and  dignity  and  lack  of  hate 
I  greatly  marveled  as  she  cried  out,  even  pityingly, 
"  Ye  poor  fools,  to  fear  him,"  pointing  her  long 
finger  at  our  leader,  and  then,  breaking  out  more 
fiercely,  she  snarled,  "  How  many  homes  have  been 
destroyed  by  his  false  teachings  !  Oh,  thou  needst 
not  threaten  me,  a  poor,  weak,  crazy  woman,  thou 
brave  giant ! "  she  sneered  at  me  as  I  started  for- 
ward with  menacing  mien. 

"  What  dost  thou  here  ?  "  and  then  a  sudden 
thought  flashed  through  me,  our  leader  and  all 
the  brothers  and  sisters  marveling  greatly  at  this 
show  of  spirit  in  their  meek  Brother  Jabez  as  I 
cried  out  boldly,  "  What  hast  done  with  our  sister, 
thou  she-devil  ? " 

And  then  she  forgot  all  her  brief  softness  as 
she  screeched  back  at  us,  "Ye  fools,  now  ye  know 


A    MIDNIGHT    VISIT  273 

what  it  is  to  have  one  stolen  from  ye,"  and  then 
she  snarled  defiantly,  "  Come  and  get  your  sister 
if  ye  can,  ye  women-men!  "  and  with  this  she 
rushed  out  of  the  doorway,  leaving  us  utterly  bereft 
of  our  wits. 

But  then  I  leaped  for  the  doorway,  our  leader 
crying  out,  "  Hold  him  ;  the  witch  will  kill  him  !  " 
but  I  shook  off  savagely  the  hands  of  the  Brothers 
trying  with  great  love  of  me  to  hold  me  back  from 
pursuing  the  grisly  shape,  for  now  I  was  on  fire 
with  the  resolve  to  follow  and  learn  once  for  all 
where  this  being  held  herself  and  who  she  was. 

Although  the  early  part  of  the  night  had  been 
dark,  I  saw  as  I  burst  out  of  the  doorway  that  the 
moon  had  come  up,  making  the  Kloster  grounds 
as  bright  as  day,  so  that  I  had  no  difficulty  in  see- 
ing the  fleeing  figure  skirting  the  foot  of  Mount 
Sinai  and  speeding  down  the  meadows  along  the 
Cocalico.  I  doubt  not  I  could  have  quickly  over- 
taken her,  but  such  was  not  my  purpose.  I  had 
but  one  thought  now  and  that  was  to  follow  her  to 
her  retreat,  and,  having  this  in  view,  I  rejoiced 
that  the  moonlight  showed  plainly  the  form  of  the 
witch.  But  the  moonlight,  if  a  help  in  this  way, 
was  a  hindrance  in  that  if  she  looked  back  she 
could  not  but  see  me  even  though  I  took  advan- 
tage of  the  shadows  of  every  bush  and  tree. 

Somehow  I  was  not  at  all  surprised  that  she  fol- 
lowed the  course  of  the  creek  to  the  very  spot 


2/4  TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTEK 

where  Sonnlein  and  I  had  crossed  that  night ;  but 
surely  she  would  not  attempt  to  pass  over  on  the 
thin  ice  that  still  lingered  on  the  pool  ending  at 
that  stony  beach  where  the  swift  stream  had  weeks 
ago  worn  away  its  icy  covering !  And  yet  so 
feather  light  did  she  skim  over  the  thin,  treacherous 
surface,  and  with  such  gliding,  ghostlike  ease,  I 
was  almost  minded  to  give  up  the  chase,  fearing, 
though  I  had  never  believed  such  vulgar  tales,  she 
might  fly  away  on  a  broomstick,  or  through  some 
other  hocus-pocus  elude  me  and  I  make  all  my 
desperate  endeavor  for  naught.  And  for  all  I 
knew  she  might,  if  pressed  too  hard,  turn  on  me 
and  change  me  into  some  vile  beast,  for  I  had 
heard  of  such  things. 

But  not  for  long  did  I  hesitate  by  reason  of 
these  childish  fears.  There  was  no  turning  back 
now,  come  what  might.  I  placed  one  of  my  heavy 
feet  delicately  on  the  thin  ice,  and,  then  bearing 
on  it  my  weight  more  heavily,  I  went  through  to 
my  knees,  almost  falling  full  length  into  the  pool, 
for  the  ice  would  not  begin  to  hold  my  great  weight. 

There  was  but  one  way  left,  and,  fearing  I  would 
lose  sight  of  her  did  I  pause  longer,  I  dashed  into 
the  swift  current  below  the  pool  with  such  hot- 
headed recklessness  that  ere  I  knew  it  and  with 
all  my  slipping  and  stumbling  I  was  safely  on  the 
other  side,  and  though  I  wasted  no  time  then  in 
idle  philosophizing,  which  hath  ever  been  a  weak- 


A    MIDNIGHT   VISIT  2?$ 

ness  of  mine,  I  have  often  thought  since  and  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  be  times  when 
one  loseth  all  by  dilly-dallying. 

As  I  shook  the  water  off  me  like  some  big  dog 
I  plunged  into  the  brush  with  the  same  reckless- 
ness I  had  crossed  the  creek,  though  now  my  wet 
garments  by  their  weight  and  their  clinging  about 
my  legs  impeded  my  progress  almost  beyond  en- 
durance; but  as  I  stood  panting  and  almost  chok- 
ing for  breath  I  saw  at  no  great  distance  ahead  in 
a  little,  moonlit  glade,  mine  enemy,  still  not  look- 
ing back,  so  that  I  felt  relieved  to  know  she  had 
not  yet  seen  me. 

On  and  on  we  went  in  this  manner,  she  seem- 
ingly without  effort,  while  I  stumbled  and  fell  re- 
peatedly over  rocks  and  gullies  and  fallen  trees, 
yet  beyond  being  severely  shaken  and  bruised  I 
received  no  great  hurts.  Of  a  sudden,  as  we  reached 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  she  changed  her  way, 
hitherto  toward  the  southwest,  abruptly  to  the 
southeast,  almost  at  the  same  spot  I  had  come  on 
the  footprints  of  Brother  Alburtus  that  sad  day. 
She  too,  now  as  I  continually  kept  nigh  enough  to 
catch  sight  of  her  among  the  bushes  and  trees, 
followed  that  same  winding  way  up  the  mountain 
side,  higher  and  higher.  Once  she  turned  half 
about  and  stood  still  as  though  listening  carefully, 
and  ere  I  could  hide  behind  a  tree  I  thought  she 
saw  me,  but  if  so  she  gave  no  sign  by  hastening 


276  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

her  flight,  if  flight  it  could  be  called,  for  she  ap- 
peared in  no  great  hurry.  But  now  and  then  she 
would  turn  sharply  about  and  stand  still  for  a  mo- 
ment as  if  listening,  and  always  when  I  was  in 
plain  view. 

We  had  now  come  nigh  to  the  very  spot  where 
I  found  Brother  Alburtus  dying  in  the  snow. 
Farther  up  the  mountain  I  could  see  plainly  his 
rocky  tomb,  and  then,  though  I  had  glanced  but 
a  moment  aside  from  my  pursuit,  she  had  com- 
pletely vanished.  I  looked  about  me  in  every 
direction,  but  I  could  see  naught  of  her,  nor  could 
I  as  much  as  hear  the  faintest  sound.  And  then 
as  suddenly  as  though  it  had  come  out  of  the 
earth,  I  saw  on  the  top  of  that  great  rock  whence 
our  brother  had  fallen  such  a  sight  as  for  a  mo- 
ment almost  benumbed  me  with  fear ;  for  there 
standing  out  clear  in  the  bright  moonlight  was  the 
tall  figure  of  some  dark  being,  so  that  my  first  over- 
powering fear  was  the  witch  had  suddenly  changed 
her  human  shape  into  that  of  the  Evil  One. 

For  a  few  moments  I  stood  almost  powerless 
with  fear,  the  forbidding  shape  on  the  rock  being 
also  absolutely  motionless,  with  its  front  toward 
me  ;  and  then,  so  that  I  have  often  wondered  what 
it  was  gave  me  such  unusual  boldness,  I  felt  a  sud- 
den strength  take  hold  of  me  and  such  a  courage 
as  feared  naught,  as  I  cried  out  fiercely,  "  Be  thou 
Belial  himself,  or  the  son  of  Belial,  I  shall  fight 


A    MIDNIGHT   VISIT  277 

thee  ! "  and  with  that  I  tore  from  its  earthly  fasten- 
ing a  young  sapling  most  like  my  wrist,  and  having 
twisted  off  the  top  I  advanced  threateningly  with 
my  club,  at  which  the  figure  on  the  rock  gave  a 
most  unearthly  screech  or  howl,  such  as  for  a  brief 
moment  chilled  my  resolution ;  but  on  again  I 
went,  yelling  back,  "  Thou  mayest  spit  and  snarl 
all  thou  hast  a  mind  to,  thou  foul  one !  "  as  I 
crossed  my  breast,  knowing  that  the  Evil  One  ever 
feareth  the  sign  of  the  cross. 

Suddenly  I  saw  the  right  arm  of  the  dread  figure 
draw  back,  and  like  a  flash  something  came  hurl- 
ing at  me  that  would  have  dashed  out  my  brains 
had  it  not  been  that  He  who  doth  watch  over  his 
own  had  placed  between  me  and  my  foe  a  small 
branch,  light  and  trifling  almost  as  air,  and  yet 
great  enough  in  his  hands  to  turn  aside  the  missile, 
so  that  instead  of  catching  me  fair  on  my  brow,  it 
barely  escaped  the  side  of  my  head. 

Tearing  my  cloak  from  me  and  tossing  it  and  my 
club  aside,  I  dashed  ahead,  and  ere  my  foe  knew 
it  I  was  on  the  rock,  and  we  were  in  each  others' 
arms  struggling  with  all  our  might  to  hurl  the 
other  down,  and  if  ever  I  needed  the  great  strength 
that  so  often  in  my  life  I  had  been  foolishly 
ashamed  of  as  being  unworthy  of  my  calling  I 
needed  it  now ;  for  whatever  my  antagonist  was  I 
speedily  found  it  flesh  and  blood  like  myself ;  for 
that  he  was  not  burdened  with  much  clothes  as 


278  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

was  I,  my  hold  often  slipped  from  his  greasy  body 
as  we  rolled  over  and  over,  now  I  on  top  and  then 
he,  each  grasping  for  the  other's  throat  or  trying 
to  trip  or  throw  the  other  down  from  the  rock. 

Surely  my  only  salvation  now  was  that  in 
spite  of  my  great  love  of  books,  yet  have  I  ever 
loved  the  open  air,  and  in  my  Kloster  life  was 
never  afraid  of  my  share  of  hard,  daily  toil,  so 
that  e'en  now  I  felt  that  my  foe,  with  all  his 
strength  and  quickness,  had  not  an  easy  task  cut 
out  for  him.  Finally  I  wrenched  myself  from  his 
hold,  and  then,  both  breathing  so  hard  it  was  no 
great  difficulty  to  know  we  were  in  deadly  earnest, 
we  stood  apart  glaring  at  each  other  and  waiting 
for  returning  strength  to  renew  our  fighting. 

All  the  while  I  kept  my  eye  closely  on  him,  pre- 
pared for  any  sudden  spring  or  trick  that  my  sly 
foe  might  try  on  me,  and  now  as  we  stood  there 
scowling  at  each  other  I  saw  plainly  if  it  were  the 
Evil  One  he  had  assumed  the  form  of  an  Indian. 
Neither  of  us  said  a  word,  but  all  at  once  I  saw 
my  dark  antagonist  draw  himself  together  and  like 
a  stone  from  a  catapult  hurl  himself  at  me ;  but 
that  which  was  meant  to  overpower  me  by  its  sud- 
denness proved  my  enemy's  undoing,  for — and  I 
believe  to  this  day  Providence  was  with  me — an 
old  trick  came  back  to  me  I  had  learned  in  my  stu- 
dent days  in  the  gymnasium,  but  of  which  I  had 
no  thought  it  still  were  within  me. 


A    MIDNIGHT   VISIT  279 

And  thus  it  was  as  my  foe  came  flying  upon  me, 
I  suddenly  dropped  on  one  knee,  and  ere  he  knew 
what  I  was  about,  I  had  caught  him  with  both 
hands  fairly  under  his  middle,  and  then  with  all 
my  power  and  strength  gave  such  a  mighty  up- 
ward heave  as  with  his  own  impulse  threw  him 
back  over  me  so  that  he  landed  clean  on  the  other 
side  of  the  rock,  where  I  heard  him  fall  with  a 
tremendous  crash.  And  then,  so  savage  is  the 
human  heart,  I  rushed  to  the  edge  of  the  rock 
eagerly  hoping  I  had  killed  him  outright.  And, 
indeed,  there  he  lay  still  enough,  so  that  I  knew 
whoever  my  foe  had  been,  it  had  not  been  the  evil 
one,  for  surely  no  mere  man  could  kill  Beelzebub. 

As  my  breath  and  strength  returned  to  me, 
though  for  a  long  time  I  was  so  weak  in  my  limbs 
I  could  do  little  less  than  totter,  I  picked  up  my 
cloak  and  wrapped  it  about  me ;  but  with  return- 
ing strength  came  a  great  horror  that  I  had  killed 
a  human  being,  and  unless  one  be  of  a  gentle 
heart  he  knoweth  naught  what  awful  feeling  pos- 
sessed my  soul  as  I  thought  upon  my  savage  deed 
which,  though  I  had  done  it  in  self-defense,  yet 
seemed  to  me  little  less  than  murder. 

For  the  time  all  thought  of  the  witch  was  cast 
aside,  my  only  fear  being  now  that  I  had  killed  the 
Indian.  I  hastened  to  his  side,  and  though  I  found 
him  bleeding  from  some  wound  in  the  head,  yet 
the  violently  throbbing  heart  told  me  there  was  life 


280  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

there  so  that  my  own  heart  leaped  up  with  a  great 
joy  and  hope  I  had  not  killed  him  ;  and — praises 
be  to  His  name — as  I  knelt  there  anxiously  waiting 
for  return  of  sense  to  him,  my  red  foe  finally 
came  to  himself  and  sat  up,  holding  his  wounded 
head,  which  I  had  now  bound  up,  and  rubbing 
himself  about  his  back  and  limbs  so  that  I  feared 
perchance  these  had  been  broken ;  but  to  my 
great  joy — for  now  I  thought  no  more  of  fearing 
him — from  sitting  up,  he  gradually,  with  many 
gruntings  and  groanings,  stood  erect  as  he  could 
in  all  his  weakness,  and  then,  as  he  seemed  for  the 
first  time  conscious  of  me,  he  grunted  in  broken 
English,  "  Big  woman-man,  big  chief ;  me  only 
papoose  ;  me  go  back  to  Conestogas  and  be  squaw  ; 
white  chief-woman  must  help  self,"  and  then  be- 
fore I  could  speak  and  ere  my  scattered  wits  knew 
what  all  this  talk  meant,  he  limped  away  down  the 
mountain-side  and  was  soon  lost  to  sight. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

MINE    ENEMY'S    HIDING-PLACE 

Weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the 
morning. 

—  The  Bible. 


Y  vanquished  foe  had 
hardly  disappeared 
down  the  mountain 
when  I  recovered  suf- 
ficiently from  my  dazed 
state  to  recall  the  witch, 
who  I  feared  had  es- 
caped me  while  I  was 
engaged  in  desperate 
conflict  with  the  red 
man.  No  man  who  hath  not  gone  through  such 
adventures  can  understand  what  a  weakness  and 
loneliness  came  upon  me  way  up  there  in  that  wild 
spot,  with  no  foe  to  fight  or  witch  to  pursue ;  for 
surely  idleness  afflicts  one  with  many  foolish  fears 
and  vain  imaginings. 

I  crawled  stiffly,  now  that  I  had  cooled  off  some- 
what, to  the  top  of  the  rock  and  looked  carefully 
in  every  direction,  straining  my  ears  for  any  sound 

281 


282  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

of  her ;  but  I  saw  and  heard  nothing.  I  fairly 
groaned  in  my  childish  despair.  It  seemed  to  me 
I  must  find  out  this  night  the  haunt  of  this  sor- 
ceress. And  then,  as  I  jumped  down  from  the 
great  stone  so  heedlessly  I  almost  fell,  something 
leaped  out  of  the  dark  shadow  of  the  rock  with 
such  suddenness  I  shrank  back  trembling  like  a 
leaf ;  but  as  I  saw,  despite  my  shattered  wits,  the 
form  of  the  witch  fleeing  still  higher  up  the  moun- 
tains, I  rushed  after  her  with  such  a  vengeful  whoop 
as  startled  even  myself ;  but  with  all  my  violent 
efforts  she  gained  steadily  on  me,  for  that  she 
knew  the  way,  dodging  in  and  out  among  the  trees 
and  bushes  with  the  greatest  ease,  while  I  stum- 
bled and  fell  repeatedly  bruising  and  tearing  my 
hands  and  knees  almost  beyond  endurance. 

Yet  how  truly  it  hath  been  said  that  often  vic- 
tory cometh  when  we  are  ready  to  give  up ;  for  as 
I  was  passing  a  cluster  of  tall,  gloomy  looking 
pines  only  a  few  paces  from  me,  I  saw  a  white-clad 
figure  which  as  I  advanced  cautiously  toward  it, 
suddenly  rushed  forward  and  ere  I  could  hinder 
threw  itself  into  mine  arms  with  a  cry  that  was 
nigh  to  weeping,  "  Brother  Jabez  !  "  As  I  recov- 
ered from  my  amazement  and  stepped  back  into 
the  moonlight  I  could  hardly  believe  my  senses, 
not  knowing  at  first  whether  it  were  another  trick 
of  the  witch  ;  for  she  who  lay  so  quietly  in  my  pro- 
tection was  none  other  than  our  Sister  Genoveva ! 


MINE    ENEMY'S    HIDING-PLACE  283 

But  she  was  not  senseless  as  I  first  supposed  ; 
for  in  a  moment  or  two  she  stood  up  by  herself, 
though  trembling,  and  said  with  a  great  gladness, 
"  The  Lord  be  praised  thou  didst  overcome  thine 
adversary."  Then  with  a  vanity  I  trust  King 
David  never  had,  I  boasted  to  my  sister,  "  Didst 
see  me  fight  the  red  man  ?  " 

"  Yea,  and  when  thou  didst  throw  him  so  mightily 
I  feared  thou  hadst  killed  him ;  for  I  knew  thee 
not  until  I  saw  thee  leave  the  rock  in  such  hot 
haste  after  this  poor  creature." 

•  "  Where  hath  she  gone  ?  "  I  asked  eagerly.  "  I 
have  vowed  not  to  rest  until  I  track  her  to  her  vile 
retreat,  though  she  take  me  to  the  gates  of  the 
lost."  And  then  our  sister  smiled  so  brightly  I 
was  hurt  that  she  should  feel  thus  at  such  a  time, 
as  she  said,  "  Wouldst  like  to  see  her  vile  retreat, 
as  thou  callest  it  ?  " 

"  For  that  and  for  thee  I  am  here." 

Still  smiling  she  said  more  softly,  and  it  seemed 
to  me  almost  teasingly,  "Art  strong  enough  to 
stand  a  great  surprise  ?  " 

To  which  I  replied  boastfully,  "After  such  a 
night  of  surprises  can  I  endure  anything." 

With  that  she  took  me  lightly  by  the  arm  and 
led  me  into  the  shadow  of  those  dark  pines  and 
when  in  the  very  midst  of  them,  I  saw  what  ap- 
peared to  me  like  one  of  the  cone-shaped  houses 
of  poles  covered  with  skins  the  red  men  are  wont 


284  A   TALE   0F   THE    KLOSTER 

to  live  in,  only  this  one  was  larger  than  any  I  had 
ever  seen  before  and  so  hidden  by  the  enfolding 
branches  of  the  pines  that  one  might  have  passed 
it  within  a  few  feet  even  in  daylight  without  know- 
ing there  were  human  habitation  nigh. 

"  See,"  said  Sister  Genoveva,  "  this  is  the  vile 
retreat  of  her  whom  thou  callest  the  witch.  'Tis 
substantial,  I  assure  thee  ;  'twill  not  vanish  into 
the  air." 

And  then,  as  she  stepped  down  and  lifted  aside  a 
flap  that  gave  entrance  to  the  structure,  the  moon- 
light shining  through  the  opening  fell  full  upon  the 
form  of  some  one  lying  within,  seemingly  asleep, 
just  beyond  the  glowing  embers  of  a  bright  fire 
that  spread  a  soothing  warmth  throughout  the  rude 
dwelling.  As  I  hung  back,  not  knowing  but  that 
I  was  under  some  spell  of  the  witch  and  that  all 
this  enchantment  would  be  my  undoing,  Sister 
Genoveva  assured  me  of  herself  by  pushing  me 
forward  gently,  saying,  "  'Tis  not  she  whom  thou 
hast  frightened  away  by  thy  unseemly  screeching," 
and  as  I  still  hung  back  for — I  say  it  to  my  great 
shame — I  feared  perhaps  the  witch  had  changed 
herself  into  the  form  of  our  sister  to  lure  me  to 
my  destruction,  our  sister  said  to  me  mockingly, 
"  Surely  a  fighting  man  like  thee  is  not  afraid !  " 
With  that  I  stepped  forward  with  a  brave  showing, 
for  the  man  that  can  endure  being  called  coward 
by  woman  is  beyond  recall. 


MINE    ENEMY'S    HIDING-PLACE  285 

But  then  as  my  feet  sank  into  the  soft  floor — 
for  it  seemed  thickly  strewn  with  the  skins  of  wild 
animals — the  prostrate  form  moved  uneasily  and 
murmured  weakly,  "  Genoveva,"  and  before  she 
could  hold  me  back  I  flung  myself  down  beside 
my  boy,  calling  to  him  like  one  crazy  with  joy, 
"  Sonnlein  !  God  be  praised  for  his  mercy  !  "  for- 
getting the  witch  and  Sister  Genoveva,  knowing 
only  that  in  his  wonderful  way  he  had  brought  me 
back  to  my  own  again. 

Best  of  all  he  knew  me  and  though  I  feared  the 
shock  of  my  sudden  coming  might  increase  his  ill- 
ness he  soon  drove  away  my  fears  by  saying,  with 
such  simple  faith,  and  the  tenderness  illness  often 
brings  even  to  men,  as  made  me  more  wickedly 
vain  than  ever,  "I  knew  thou  wouldst  come." 

Much  had  we  to  say  to  each  other  after  all  our 
grievous  trials,  for  Sonnlein  would  talk  against  all 
the  admonishing  from  Sister  Genoveva,  and  once 
when  she  insisted  more  firmly  than  before  that  he 
cease  talking  and  go  to  sleep  he  retorted  softly, 
slyly  winking  at  me — though  I  detest  winking 
— "  Surely  thou  art  not  going  to  scold  me  ere  we 
are  married  ?  ' 

"  Married  !  "  I  burst  forth,  "much  time  hast  had 
to  make  love  if  thou  hast  been  sick  since  thou  left 
us,  and  I  doubt  not  thou  hast  been  nigh  to  death." 

But  he  merely  smiled  more  wickedly  than  be- 
fore as  he  said,  "  When  a  man  is  too  old  or  too 


286  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

sick  to  make  love  'tis  time  for  him  to  die,  and  I 
feel  not  like  dying,  I  assure  thee." 

So  long  as  he  had  such  nonsense  in  him  I  knew 
he  was  not  in  any  critical  illness.  Indeed,  Geno- 
veva  declared  he  was  gaining  so  rapidly  she  knew 
not  what  to  do,  for  that  he  was  all  the  time  promis- 
ing she  must  be  his  wife  so  soon  as  he  were  well. 

But  finally,  for  with  our  Kloster  discipline  still 
upon  us  even  in  all  these  wild  surroundings,  in  that 
we  came  slowly  to  what  we  most  cared  to  hear,  I 
prevailed  upon  our  sister's  modesty — for  she  would 
not  have  it  that  she  had  endured  anything  un- 
usual— to  tell  me  about  her  capture  and  long  stay 
from  us  ;  but  she  insisted  in  making  so  light  of 
all  she  had  suffered  and  endured  in  body  and  mind 
that  her  story  was  over  much  too  soon,  though 
Sonnlein  fell  most  ungallantly  asleep  ere  she  was 
half-way  through,  greatly  tempting  me  to  waken 
him  with  the  reminder  that  he  was  the  one  who 
acted  as  though  he  and  Genoveva  were  already 
married  ;  but  no  doubt  his  illness  was  adequate 
apology ;  for  truly  no  man  worthy  the  name,  so  it 
seemeth  to  my  inexperience,  could  even  wish  to 
sleep  while  his  lady  love  were  talking  to  him  ; 
though  I  have  heard  it  stoutly  averred  that  after 
marriage  a  great  change  cometh  over  the  man  so 
that  he  goeth  to  sleep  whenever  he  feeleth  like  it 
even  though  his  Liebchen  be  talking  to  him ;  but 
this  I  never  could  believe. 


MINE    ENEMY'S    HIDING-PLACE  287 

But  it  is  not  seemly  that  I,  a  monk,  should  at- 
tempt instruction  in  love  and  marriage,  and  there- 
fore shall  I  turn  to  our  sister's  tale  of  her  capture  ; 
and  very  discreetly  she  said  nothing  about  Sonn- 
lein's  meeting  her  under  the  chestnut  tree;  nor 
did  I  think  it  wise  to  refer  to  the  matter  for  fear — 
though  I  never  doubted  her  word — the  temptation 
for  falsehood  would  be  too  great ;  for  it  hath  ever 
seemed  to  me  a  most  dreadful  thing  that  the  fair 
sisters,  whom  the  Lord  hath  created  so  like  unto 
the  angels,  should  ever  be  guilty  of  untruth. 

But  here  I  am  preaching  again,  as  usual,  so  that 
it  seemeth  I  shall  never  get  to  our  sister's  story. 
Yet  now  shall  I  proceed  to  it  without  further  de- 
viation. And  thus  it  was  :  She  was  sitting  under 
the  tree  but  a  short  time  after  Brother  Alburtus 
had  passed  her  when  suddenly  some  one  from  be- 
hind grasped  her  roughly  by  the  arm  and  as  she 
turned  about,  in  her  first  thought  believing  it  had 
been  some  jesting  one  stealing  upon  her,  she  looked 
up  and  saw  bending  over  her  threateningly  the  tall 
form  of  a  red  man,  with  an  evil-looking  old  woman 
directly  back  of  him.  As  our  sister  was  about  to 
cry  for  help  he  made  such  menacing  motions  and 
gestures  that  she  knew  it  would  be  foolish  to  make 
resistance  ;  but  instead  she  went  with  them  as  they 
led  the  way  down  Mount  Sinai  through  the  mead- 
ows, and  along  the  creek,  crossing  it  where  Sonn- 
lein  and  I  had  seen  the  footprints. 


288  A  TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

At  first  their  course  was  to  the  southwest  from 
the  Kloster,  and  in  this  direction  they  had  gone 
for  some  miles,  and  though  in  the  darkness  that 
soon  came  upon  them  they  went  slowly  through 
the  thick  woods,  the  captors  not  seeming  inclined 
to  be  harsh  to  our  sister,  yet  so  oft  did  she  stum- 
ble and  the  swinging  branches  strike  and  sting  her 
face  that  she  was  compelled  to  stop  for  rest. 

But  now,  though  our  sister  understood  not  their 
speech,  the  red  man  and  the  old  woman  seemed  to 
be  disputing,  the  former  wanting,  our  sister  made 
out,  to  go  back  to  the  mountains,  for  thus  he 
would  point  while  the  witch  would  shake  her 
head  and  beckon  to  the  southwest ;  but  at  last  she 
consented  to  the  red  man's  persuasion,  for  sud- 
denly they  changed  almost  directly  about,  so  that 
for  a  moment  our  sister  had  the  cheering  hope 
they  were  going  to  take  her  back  to  the  Kloster. 

This  hope,  however,  lasted  not  long,  for  instead 
of  returning  to  the  Kloster  her  captors  soon 
turned  toward  the  mountains.  Beyond  the  spite- 
ful glances  the  witch  would  cast  at  our  sister  there 
seemed  no  inclination  Jto  injure  her ;  but  though 
the  way  through  the  valley  had  been  rough  it  was 
as  naught  to  the  unbroken  path  up  the  steep  hill- 
side in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  for  they  had  no 
light,  only  that  the  red  man  went  ahead  as  freely 
as  though  it  were  midday,  with  our  sister  next  to 
him,  and  back  of  her  the  witch,  to  prevent  escape. 


MINE    ENEMY'S    HIDING-PLACE  289 

At  last  they  came  to  the  great  rock,  from  whose 
top  a  view  could  be  had  down  over  the  valley  of 
the  Cocalico.  The  red  man  having  ascended  the 
high  stone  looked  long  and  carefully  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Kloster.  All  at  once  he  called  the 
witch  to  him  and  pointed  out  something  of  great 
interest  to  both,  causing  Genoveva  to  climb  upon 
the  rock  and  look  in  the  direction  he  was  pointing. 
She  saw  now  and  then  a  light  moving  down  from 
what  she  guessed  to  be  Mount  Sinai  toward  the 
Cocalico  in  the  direction  she  and  her  captors  had 
taken,  and  she  doubted  not  that  some  one  was 
coming  to  her  rescue. 

But  though  her  hope  was  again  revived  it  was 
but  for  a  brief  season,  for  heavy  clouds  had  gath- 
ered after  nightfall,  and  even  while  yet  on  the 
rock  a  few  scattering  drops  of  rain  fell,  so  that 
her  captors  after  a  few  moments  more  of  careful 
examination  of  the  valley  proceeded  up  the  hill  and 
led  her  to  this  hiding-place.  Hardly  had  they 
reached  its  shelter  when  the  rain  came  down,  and 
she  knew  as  it  came  faster  and  faster  none  of  us 
would  be  able  to  find  their  trail. 

In  this  lonely  spot  she  had  been  all  these 
months  with  no  other  companion  than  this  strange 
woman,  who  seldom  spoke  to  our  sister,  but  would 
often  sit  muttering  to  herself.  Sometimes  she 
would  leave  her  hiding-place,  and  be  gone  for  days 
and  even  weeks  at  a  time,  and  had  it  not  been 

u 


290  A  TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

that  the  red  man,  who  seemed  to  have  a  shelter 
somewhere  nigh,  had  supplied  Sister  Genoveva 
with  the  flesh  of  wild  animals  and  other  food  she 
would  have  starved ;  for  when  the  witch  was  ab- 
sent our  sister  had  thought  to  make  her  escape, 
but  every  time  before  she  had  gone  far  the  red 
man  would  suddenly  appear,  and  without  saying  a 
word  lead  her  back  to  the  hut. 

Nor  could  she  learn  from  him  the  reason  of  her 
capture  and  who  the  witch  was,  as  he — according 
to  the  silent  nature  of  Indians — would  say  nothing 
more  than  that  the  witch  was  friend  to  his  tribe, 
"  Conestogas,"  had  often  taken  care  of  them  in 
sickness,  and  was  regarded  by  his  people  as  having 
wonderful  powers. 

Thus  day  after  day  and  night  after  night  she 
lived  here  during  all  the  cold  of  winter,  though 
snugly  enough  housed  within  the  shelter  of  these 
pines,  that  sometimes  with  all  her  hope  and  faith, 
it  seemed  she  must  go  mad ;  but  she  never  failed, 
no  matter  whether  rain  or  snow  or  biting  cold,  to 
rise  at  the  midnight  hour  and  seek  peace  and  com- 
fort in  praise  and  prayer.  Often  she  heard  the 
clear  tones  of  the  Kloster  bell,  even  at  this  far-off 
height,  if  the  wind  were  not  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion, and  saw  the  cheering  lights  that  shone  out 
from  Mount  Sinai  and  from  the  wide  scattered 
settlers'  huts  throughout  the  valley,  so  that  she 
felt  not  utterly  alone  in  the  world. 


MINE    ENEMY  S    HIDING-PLACE  29 1 

Then  she  came  to  that  which  she  knew  I  most 
cared  to  hear,  and  that  was  how  Sonnlein  had  come 
to  her.  And  the  manner  of  this  has  always 
seemed  to  me  little  less  than  miraculous,  for  it  is 
beyond  me  to  explain  it  otherwise.  All  that  night 
that  Sonnlein  was  with  Brother  Benno  and  me  in 
the  chapter  house,  our  sister — the  witch  at  that 
time  being  in  her  hiding-place — could  find  no  rest. 
It  seemed  impossible  for  her  to  fall  asleep.  She 
held  her  usual  midnight  devotions  from  the  rock 
looking  down  toward  the  Kloster,  so  that  she  might 
feel  she  were  praying  with  us,  and  though  this  gave 
her  some  peace,  yet  when  she  returned  again  to 
the  hut  and  lay  down  to  sleep  she  found  no  rest ; 
but  toward  the  morning  she  finally  fell  asleep,  but 
only  to  have  it  filled  with  a  strange  dream  ;  for  it 
seemed  to  her  she  saw  Sonnlein  lying  on  a  hard 
couch  in  one  of  our  Rammers,  worn  and  wasted  and 
suffering  from  some  great  illness,  and  then  suddenly 
he  arose  from  his  couch  and  rushed  from  his  cell  and 
out  of  Zion  down  over  the  hill  toward  the  Cocalico, 
calling  her  name,  once,  twice,  a  number  of  times, 
whereat  she  struggled  to  go  to  him  but  could  not ! 
She  awoke  with  a  great  start  only  to  hear  a  heavy 
storm  roaring  all  about  her ;  but  though  she  knew 
she  was  awake  she  still  saw,  or  imagined  she  saw, 
Sonnlein  rush  through  the  creek  and  into  the 
woods  on  the  other  side,  as  though  he  were 
coming  directly  to  her. 


292  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

At  first  she  tried  to  shake  the  matter  from  her 
mind  as  merely  a  dream,  but  she  could  not  do  so. 
Something  even  against  her  own  persuading 
seemed  to  tell  her  that  Sonnlein  was  seeking 
her,  that  she  must  go  to  meet  him,  and  ere  she 
knew  what  she  was  about  she  found  herself  out- 
side the  hut,  rushing  in  all  the  storm  down  the 
mountain  as  fast  as  she  could,  the  witch  closely 
following. 

Our  sister  could  not  tell  how  long  or  how  far 
they  had  gone  in  this  wild,  headlong  manner,  but 
they  were  not  far  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
when  suddenly  at  no  great  distance  above  them, 
seemingly  the  very  way  they  had  come,  she  heard 
a  faint  cry,  "  Genoveva  !  " 

Not  knowing  whether  she  were  bewitched  or 
really  gone  mad  from  all  these  months  of  loneli- 
ness, she  stood  like  one  dazed  ;  but  then  again, 
and  even  a  third  time,  she  heard  her  name  as 
though  the  one  calling  were  going  farther  up  the 
mountain.  The  witch  too  heard  the  cry  and  to- 
gether they  hastened  up  the  hill,  but  hearing  no 
longer  the  calls ;  and  in  this  wise  they  came  back 
again  to  the  great  rock,  and  there,  so  that  she 
could  hardly  believe  her  own  eyes,  it  now  being 
broad  daylight,  lay  the  figure  of  a  man  face  down- 
ward as  though  he  had  fallen  that  way,  who  as 
they  turned  him  about  she  saw  was  Sonnlein. 

Here  I  interrupted  our  sister  most  foolishly  by 


MINE    ENEMY'S    HIDING-PLACE  293 

asking,  "  What  didst  do — kiss  him  ? "  To  which  un- 
manly question  she  made  no  reply,  only  that  I  feel 
sure  had  it  not  been  so  dark  in  the  hut,  the  moon 
having  gone  down,  I  should  have  seen  exceedingly 
rich  blushings  on  the  face  of  our  dear  sister. 

But  she  and  the  witch,  the  latter  seeming  to 
have  the  strength  of  a  man  (and  in  truth  Genoveva 
was  no  weakling)  carried  Sonnlein  into  the  hut, 
where  he  lay  for  weeks  with  a  raging  fever,  and 
though  she  and  the  witch  watched  over  him  and 
nursed  him,  our  sister  despaired  of  his  ever  coming 
to  himself  again.  Had  it  not  been  that  the  witch 
possessed  wonderful  knowledge  of  the  herbs  she 
gathered  in  the  woods  and  made  into  physic  for 
Sonnlein,  our  sister  felt  he  surely  would  have 
died.  But  for  some  reason  the  witch  became 
greatly  devoted  to  Sonnlein,  nursing  him  as  ten- 
derly as  though  she  were  his  own  mother,  some- 
times seeming  jealous  of  our  sister,  so  that  until 
this  night  the  witch  had  not  left  the  hut  since 
they  had  found  Sonnlein  lying  on  the  rock ;  but 
gradually  under  the  witch's  care  he  had  come  to 
himself  again,  and  was  now  quite  strong  and  in 
his  own  mind,  only  that  he  was  continually  pes- 
tering our  sister  that  she  must  marry  him. 

To  this  I  made  question,  "  But  being  a  Rose  of 
Saron  thou  wouldst  not  marry  him  ?" 

And  to  which  she  replied  softly,  "  So  have  I 
oft  told  him,  but  he  sayeth  he  careth  naught  what 


294  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

I  say,  that  he  will  marry  me  whether  I  have  him 
or  not,  and  thou  hast  so  spoiled  him  all  his  life  by 
letting  him  have  his  own  will  I  fear  I  can  do 
naught  but  let  him  have  it  in  this." 

I  merely  made  reply,  "  May  thy  reward  be  great 
for  sacrificing  thyself  so  willingly  to  the  result  of 
my  over-indulgence !  "  whereat  she  laughed  so 
merrily,  'twas  like  music,  for  though  quick  to  feel 
the  soft  sting  in  my  retort  she  was  too  great- 
hearted a  woman  to  be  hurt  at  what  she  knew  was 
only  meant  in  jest. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE    END    OF    THE    WITCH 


For  now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly  ;  but  then  face  to  face. 

— New  Testament. 

HUS  we  sat  and  talked 
until  the  morning  light 
streaming  through  the 
partially  opened  entrance 
to  the  hut  showed  me 
more  fully  my  boy,  still 
sleeping  soundly ;  and 
for  this  we  were  thank- 
ful, knowing  how  much 
better  than  all  physic  is 
the  healing  power  of  sleep.  I  could  see  now  by 
his  thin  face  and  wasted  hands  that  he  had  been 
through  a  dangerous  illness ;  but  his  breathing 
was  so  even  and  there  was  such  absence  of  fever, 
I  said  gratefully  to  Sister  Genoveva,  "  Thou  hast 
saved  Sonnlein's  life." 

But  she  replied,  blushing  at  my  praise,  "Nay, 
'tis  to  the  witch  thou  must  give  thy  gratitude. 
She  hath  wonderful  wisdom  with  the  herbs  she 
findeth  in  the  woods." 

295 


296  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

And  then  for  the  first  time  in  all  these  years,  it 
came  to  me  that,  perhaps,  I  had  misjudged  this 
woman  whom  I  held  in  such  abhorrence.  Tis  an 
awful  thing  to  think  evil  of  an  innocent  person  ! 

Suddenly  I  asked  our  sister,  "  How  did  she  treat 
thee  ? " 

"At  first  I  feared  she  meant  me  harm,  for  she 
would  look  at  me  with  an  evil  glare  as  though  she 
felt  like  killing  me;  but  the  red  man  spake  some- 
thing to  her  whereat  she  seemed  less  sullen  so 
that  I  lost  fear  of  her." 

"  Thou  dost  not  look  as  if  thou  hadst  been  pin- 
ing away  with  fear,"  I  said,  smiling  to  our  sister ; 
for  as  I  glanced  at  her  with  such  admiration  as 
made  her  blush  again,  I  marveled  not  how  my  boy 
could  be  so  bent  on  having  her  to  wife  ;  for  I  had 
seen  him  make  love  to  her  when  he  was  in  the 
full  flush  of  health,  and  if  a  man  when  he  be  well 
can  feel  tenderly  toward  a  woman,  how  much 
dearer  must  she  be  to  him  when  she  appears  in 
the  guise  of  a  ministering  angel. 

Not  that  our  sister  was  one  of  those  delicate, 
etherial  ones  whom  a  man  must  watch  over  like 
some  frail  flower  ;  for  the  clear,  honest  light  of  day 
showed  fully  what  the  deceitful  moonlight  had 
only  half  revealed ;  the  pure,  healthful  beauty  of 
that  graceful,  rounded  form  and  sweetly  calm, 
noble  face,  so  full  of  womanly  strength  and  char- 
acter not   in   the   slightest  dimmed  or  marred  by 


THE    END    OF   THE   WITCH  297 

her  hard  life  in  this  wilderness,  far  harder  even 
than  the  rigorous  life  of  our  Kloster ;  for  though 
this  rude  hut  were  proof  enough  'gainst  wind  and 
cold  and  rain,  yet  I  could  see  from  its  meagre  fur- 
nishings that  she  had  endured  more  than  usually 
falls  to  the  lot  of  woman,  so  that  it  came  to  me, 
if  Sonnlein  were  set  upon  marrying  her,  surely  in 
all  this  wide  world  could  he  not  find  a  fitter  mate, 
in  body,  mind,  soul,  and  spirit,  as  man  and  woman 
should  be  mated. 

But  now  it  came  to  me  I  must  get  Genoveva 
and  Sonnlein  home  again,  for  in  this  dreadful  war 
with  the  French  and  Indians,  I  knew  not  what  the 
witch  might  do ;  for  though  the  Conestogas  had 
been  accounted  a  peace-loving  tribe,  yet  there 
were  many  of  the  white  settlers  who  charged  the 
Conestogas  with  secretly  assisting  the  French 
red  men,  and  indeed,  not  many  years  after  this, 
the  Paxton  boys  killed  a  number  of  Conestogas  in 
their  little  town. 

Much  against  my  will  I  was  compelled  to  leave 
our  sister  and  Sonnlein  alone  in  this  unprotected 
hut,  while  I  with  a  great  joy  in  my  heart  that 
made  me  forget  my  hurts  and  loss  of  sleep, 
tramped  down  the  mountains,  laughing  to  myself 
at  the  good  news  I  should  break  to  my  admiring 
brothers  and  sisters. 

I  arrived  at  the  Kloster  while  the  morning  was 
still  young,  and  reported  briefly  to  our  leader  of 


298  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

my  having  found  Sonnlein,  saying  naught  yet  to 
the  Solitary  of  Genoveva,  for  I  preferred  to  keep 
this  as  another  joyous  surprise,  and  though  the 
Brothers  and  Sisters  were  of  a  mind  to  make 
much  of  me  as  one  having  been  snatched  from  the 
very  jaws  of  death,  not  doubting  the  witch  had 
killed  me,  I  finally,  after  each  curious  one  had 
heard  with  more  or  less  fullness  of  detail  of  my 
wonderful  experience,  succeeded  in  getting  made 
a  stout  litter,  and  securing  eight  Brethren  as  bear- 
ers for  Sonnlein. 

With  me  proudly  in  advance  I  led  my  little 
band  of  God's  warriors,  by  as  unobserved  a  way 
as  possible — dreading  show  and  excitement — up 
the  mountain  to  the  great  rock,  my  brethren  walk- 
ing in  silence  as  usual,  but  I  know  inwardly  burn- 
ing with  a  great  zeal  for  their  loving  mission. 

For  some  moments  my  brethren  and  I  stood  on 
the  great  rock  with  its  beautiful  outlook  over  the 
delightful  valley  where  lay  our  little  Kloster,  and 
then  I  told  them  of  how  I  had  found  here  our 
Brother  Alburtus  and  how  I  had  placed  him  in 
his  stone  grave,  which  I  pointed  out  to  them  ; 
nor  could  I  keep  my  vanity  from  telling  how  I 
had  overthrown  my  red  adversary,  so  that  Brother 
Hansly  looked"  at  me  with  such  awe  I  was  not 
greatly  displeased. 

Then,  at  my  bidding,  my  brethren  followed  me 
up  the  hill  toward  the  hut,  my  heart  now  beating 


THE   END    OF   THE   WITCH  299 

hard  for  fear  the  witch  and  her  red  man  had  in  the 
meantime  carried  our  sister  and  my  Sonnlein  away 
again,  for  everything  seemed  so  quiet  and  I  saw 
no  sign  of  Genoveva. 

But  as  we  came  nigh  the  clustered  pines,  being 
in  the  lead  I  caught  glimpses  of  Genoveva  coming 
toward  us,  though  I  said  not  a  word  to  my  follow- 
ers until  we  were  almost  upon  her,  who,  stepping 
out  suddenly  from  behind  a  bush  almost  killed  my 
little  band  with  fright,  for  to  many  of  the  Solitary 
she  had  long  been  held  as  dead. 

Yet  as  they  saw  me  greet  her  boldly,  they, 
though  still  in  great  bewilderment,  gathered  about 
us,  Brother  Hansly,  slyly  reaching  from  behind 
Brother  Theonis,  feeling  her  skirt  to  make  sure 
she  was  no  spirit ;  whereat  she  had  him  come  to 
her  much  as  a  mother  draweth  to  her  some  mis- 
chievous, beloved  child,  so  that  our  diminutive 
brother's  face  reddened  like  a  girl's. 

We  stood  but  a  few  minutes  thus  when  from 
within  the  hut,  so  that  my  brothers  were  given 
another  start,  came  a  low  call,  "  Genoveva,"  at 
which  it  was  her  turn  to  redden  like  a  rose,  as  she 
said,  "  Thy  Sonnlein  hath  so  little  patience ;  he 
surely  is  getting  well,"  and  as  she  turned  to  go  to 
him  we  all  trooped  after  her  into  the  hut,  almost 
filling  it,  each  one  greeting  Sonnlein  with  such 
affection  as  to  make  my  eyes  wet  in  my  foolish 
pride  that  my  brethren  cared  so  much  for  my  boy. 


300  A   TALE   OF    THE    KLOSTER 

And  then  against  all  his  declaring  he  would  not 
be  carried  like  some  great  baby  to  the  Kloster,  we 
took  a  number  of  the  skins  from  the  hut  and 
made  a  soft  couch  for  him  on  the  litter ;  but  before 
leaving,  we  went  where  lay  our  Brother  Alburtus, 
at  the  relating  of  whose  sudden  taking  away  Sonn- 
lein  and  Genoveva  were  much  grieved.  And  be- 
cause our  brother  had  received  such  unusual 
burial,  it  seemed  fitting  to  us  ere  we  departed  to 
honor  his  memory  by  singing  and  prayer. 

Then  sadly  and  silently,  with  slow  and  careful 
steps  we  carried  Sonnlein  safely  to  the  foot  of  this 
rugged  mountain.  Here  we  rested  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  by  as  unobserved  a  way  as  we  had 
come  we  arrived  at  the  Kloster  early  in  the  after- 
noon, where  we  all  received  such  joyful  welcome 
as  I  shall  never  forget,  only  that  there  were  among 
the  Solitary  some  who  seemed  never  fully  able  to 
forgive  Genoveva  for  returning  to  life  after  they 
had  so  long  maintained  she  had  been  translated 
like  the  prophets  of  old. 

Sonnlein  was  at  once  taken  to  his  cell  adjoining 
mine,  in  Bethania,  where  with  the  nursing  I  gave 
him  and  with  Brother  Gideon's  physic,  not  forget- 
ting the  feeding  the  Sisters  and  the  housemothers, 
near  and  far,  insisted  he  must  have,  it  was  not  long 
ere  he  was  up  and  out  and  so  continually  tagging 
after  Genoveva  that  our  Sisters  and  not  a  few  of 
the  Brothers  must  needs  feel  greatly  scandalized. 


THE    END    OF   THE   WITCH  30I 

But  now  I  must  tell  of  this  strange  woman 
whom  I  in  my  hasty  judgment  had  ever  thought 
was  of  the  Evil  One. 

One  day,  a  few  months  after  the  return  of  Sonn- 
lein  and  Genoveva,  we  were  thrown  into  the  great- 
est alarm  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  red  man 
among  us  one  bright  spring  morning.  As  he  came 
across  the  meadow  from  down  the  Cocalico,  see- 
ing he  was  alone  I  stepped  out  with  Sonnlein  from 
the  timid  group  of  Brothers  and  Sisters  to  meet 
the  intruder ;  but  on  seeing  me  he  lost  all  his 
pride  as  he  said  meekly,  "  Woman  chief  dying  up 
hill,  want  white  rose  and  sick  brother,"  pointing 
to  Sonnlein,  "  come  see  her,"  and  then  he  looked 
at  me  carefully  and  said,  "Big  brother  come  too." 

Though  our  leader  and  many  of  the  Brothers 
and  Sisters  sought  to  dissuade  us  from  going  with 
the  red  man,  dreading  it  meant  nothing  but  a 
scheme  for  taking  us  into  captivity,  Sonnlein  and 
I,  and  even  Genoveva,  were  resolved  to  go  with  the 
savage,  for  we  somehow  felt  he  told  the  truth. 

Once  again  we  went  that  long  toilsome  way  to 
that  far-off  mountain  hut,  and  by  noon  we  all  were 
standing  within  the  rude  dwelling  where  lay  the 
witch  dying,  as  we  could  clearly  see. 

At  first  she  seemed  so  near  the  dark  shore  she 
saw  us  not,  and  then  as  though  she  noted  neither 
the  red  man  nor  me  nor  Genoveva,  the  dying 
woman  gazed  lovingly  at  Sonnlein,  and  murmured, 


302  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

"  David,  my  David,  thou  hast  been  away  so  long"  ; 
and  then  as  Sonnlein,  obeying  some  gracious  im- 
pulse, knelt  down  beside  her  she  folded  her  feeble 
arms  about  him,  holding  him  as  though  she  never 
would  let  him  go.  Outside  the  birds  were  flitting 
from  tree  to  tree,  chirping  merrily,  as  though  death 
and  sorrow  never  came  to  them  ;  but  else  all  was  so 
quiet  we  could  hear  naught  but  the  heavy  breathing 
of  this  poor  woman.  Great  tears  stood  in  our  eyes, 
even  the  red  man  bowing  his  head  sadly  for  her 
whom  his  tribe  held  in  such  high  regard. 

But  with  all  the  solemnity  of  a  soul's  leaving  its 
mortal  home,  my  mind  was  fixed  upon  the  mystery 
of  the  life  of  her  who  had  always  seemed  to  me 
so  hideous,  but  who  now  in  the  refining  hour  of 
death  had  lost  her  forbidding  aspect,  so  that  I 
could  believe  that  before  suffering  and  hate  had 
poisoned  her  whole  being  she  had  been  a  comely 
woman. 

With  such  thoughts  in  my  mind  we  watched 
over  her,  Sister  Genoveva,  with  her  woman's  finer 
sensibilities,  doing  all  she  could  to  make  the  end 
more  easy  ;  but  mine  enemy — now  mine  enemy  no 
more — still  seemed  to  see  only  Sonnlein,  caring 
for  naught  else. 

Later  in  the  afternoon  she  passed  quietly  away 
like  a  slowly  expiring  lamp;  but  just  a  few  mo- 
ments before  her  soul's  flight,  the  dark  veil  that 
hung  between   her  and  the  long  ago  was   lifted 


THE   END    OF   THE   WITCH  303 

slightly  as  we  heard  her  murmur  to  Sonnlein  : 
"  Charles,  where  is  Charles  ? "  and  then  she 
seemed  to  wait  for  some  one's  coming,  but  soon 
forgot  her  wish,  and  lay  quietly,  her  arms  slipping 
from  Sonnlein's  neck,  and  we  knew  her  stormy 
life  was  over,  and  though  we  had  strict  views  as  to 
who  could  enter  into  the  joys  of  the  blessed,  yet  a 
fervent  prayer  went  up  from  my  heart  that  He 
who  pitieth  us  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  would 
take  her  to  him  as  one  of  his  own. 

As  Sonnlein  arose  and  looked  long  and  earnestly 
at  the  poor  handful  of  dust  lying  at  his  feet,  I  could 
see  that  he  too  was  turning  over  in  his  mind  the 
mystery  of  this  old  woman  ;  but  he  said  noth- 
ing, and  then  Genoveva  bent  down  and  brushed 
back  the  tangled  gray  hair  and  folded  the  hands 
over  the  now  quiet  breast  and  straightened  out  the 
already  stiffening  form. 

But  the  long  May  day  was  drawing  to  its  close, 
and  it  came  to  us  that  ere  we  left  we  must  make 
proper  and  respectful  burial  of  the  dead.  With 
the  suddenness  of  a  flash  of  light  an  overpower- 
ing thought  came  to  me  that  we  should  lay  her 
alongside  our  Brother  Alburtus.  When  I  suggested 
this  to  Sonnlein  and  Genoveva,  both,  with  all  their 
sorrow,  rejoiced  I  had  thought  of  this,  and  even 
the  Indian,  when  our  plan  was  explained  to  him, 
grunted  his  approval  by  saying,  "Big  brother, 
good  man." 


304  A   TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

Fortunately,  though  the  stones  were  large  and 
exceedingly  heavy,  yet  by  our  combined  strength 
and  the  using  of  pieces  of  wood  as  levers  we  worked 
the  rocks  far  enough  apart  to  make  a  resting-place 
for  her  alongside  Brother  Alburtus,  whose  mortal 
frame,  by  reason  of  the  purity  of  the  air  and  the 
cold  in  this  mountain  height  had  suffered  no  great 
change  since  the  day  of  his  burial. 

And  then  having  placed  her  whose  life  had  been 
so  troubled  and  tempestuous  by  the  side  of  him 
whose  days  had  been  so  gentle  and  peaceful,  Sonn- 
lein  and  Genoveva  sang  over  them  softly  a  few  of 
our  noble,  heaven-inspired  hymns,  I  following  with 
a  short  prayer  that  this  poor  woman  might  see 
Him  face  to  face,  after  which  we  closed  up  the  top 
and  ends  of  the  little  vault  with  heavy  stones, 
knowing  that  at  the  last  great  day  some  bright- 
winged  angel  would  find  even  this  lonely  sepulchre 
and  roll  away  the  stones. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE   TWAIN    ARE    MADE    ONE 

Whoso  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing,  and  obtaineth 
favor  of  the  Lord. 

—  The  Bible. 


HAT  a  bundle  of  contra- 
dictions is  poor  human 
flesh  !  Here  have  I 
been  all  my  life  preach- 
ing the  beauty  and 
sanctity  of  single  life, 
and  am  I  not  the  same 
man  who  once  at  the 
command  of  Brother 
Beissel  printed  an  ar- 
gument against  the  Moravians  for  that  they  prac- 
tised not  celibacy  and  being  called  to  task  by  our 
leader  for  the  moderation  of  my  views,  I  added  so 
much  salt  to  my  polemics  that  Brother  Beissel  was 
greatly  pleased  and  I  doubt  not  our  spiritual  ene- 
mies completely  overwhelmed  ? 

But  here  am  I  now  in  my  old  age  delighting  in 
telling  of  the  day  when  my  boy  and  our  beloved 
Genoveva  were  made  one,  our  dear  sister  having 

v  305 


306  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

finally  consented  to  give  up  her  celestial  Bride- 
groom for  an  earthly  one. 

Over  a  year  had  slipped  by  since  the  death  of 
that  poor  woman,  and  how  often  I  tried  to  solve 
the  mystery  of  her  life  by  the  light  of  her  last 
words,  her  strange  devotion  to  Sonnlein  in  his  ill- 
ness, her  clinging  so  to  him  in  her  last  moments ; 
and  then  the  death  of  Brother  Alburtus  would 
come  to  me,  and  how  he  thought  himself  another 
person,  calling  himself  David  Seymour ;  but  though 
my  mind  would  continually  hang  over  these  two 
so  that  at  times  I  thought  I  had  caught  the  an- 
swer, yet  I  was  often  on  further  reflection  com- 
pelled to  confess  I  had  not  the  solution  of  all  this 
mystery,  which  I  often  feared  would  never  be 
made  clear. 

And  now  sweet  May  had  come  again,  to  me 
ever  one  of  the  most  pleasing  months  of  the  year, 
when  the  dandelions  and  the  buttercups  gleam  in 
our  meadows  like  stars,  and  the  meek  little  violets 
nestle  lovingly  in  the  deep  grass,  while  from  the 
fields  and  the  woods  come  the  clear  notes  of  the 
birds,  mate  calling  unto  mate  with  such  delicious 
tenderness  that  I  often  wonder  whether  there  be 
not  a  heaven  for  flowers  and  birds,  and  for  every- 
thing He  created.  And  yet  I  mean  not  the  same 
heaven  for  all,  for  I  like  not  snakes  and  bugs. 

Indeed,  'twas  either  the  enchanting  spring  days 
or  else  this  getting  my  boy  and   our  Genoveva 


THE  TWAIN  ARE  MADE  ONE        307 

wedded  that  seemed  to  go  to  my  head  like  wine ; 
for  half  the  time  I  was  flying  about  the  Kloster 
grounds  like  a  bee  in  a  bottle,  and  yet  if  it  ever  be 
necessary  for  one  to  keep  his  wits  from  bumping 
against  the  other  surely  it  is  when  there  is  in- 
trusted to  him  the  tremendous  responsibility  of 
tying  together  two  young  hearts  in  wedlock. 

My  Brothers  and  Sisters,  though  at  first  consist- 
ently opposing  themselves  to  all  this  marrying, 
finally — for  so  great  was  their  love  for  Sonnlein 
and  Genoveva — took  almost  as  great  interest  as  I 
in  the  matter,  especially  the  Sisters,  notwithstand- 
ing their  vows ;  for  I  have  observed  that  the  weaker 
sex  can  no  more  keep  away  from  weddings  than 
honey  bees  from  the  flowers. 

After  much  talk  with  the  Sisters — and  even  the 
Brethren  deigned  to  give  most  grave  and  solemn 
suggestions  which  I  gratefully  accepted  and  wisely 
disregarded — it  was  decided  the  wedding,  or  Hoch- 
zeity  should  be  held  in  Peniel,  which  as  will 
be  recalled  we  built  in  the  meadow  during  that 
dreadful  winter  just  before  the  death  of  our  poor 
Brother  Agonius. 

So  great  a  delight  did  our  little  community  find 
in  the  wedding  to  be,  that  not  only  were  invita- 
tions sent  out  to  all  the  housefathers,  their  good 
wives  and  sturdy  sons  and  buxom  daughters ;  but 
we  even  sent  invitations  to  our  English  Brethren 
in    Nantmill   and   Coventry  and    to  our  German 


308  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

Brethren  on  the  Wissahickon  ;  for  we  were  not 
ashamed  to  let  the  world  see  that  although  we 
had  high  regard  for  our  views  of  celibacy,  yet  we 
knew  when  it  became  us  to  bow  gently  to  that 
which  could  not  be  helped,  for  surely  when  two 
be  bent  on  marrying  each  other  naught  availeth 
to  hinder  them. 

And  now  that  we  had  decided  upon  such  grave 
matters  as  the  fixing  of  the  day,  the  selection  of 
the  person  to  perform  the  ceremony,  our  justice, 
Conrad  Weiser,  having  graciously  accepted  that 
honor,  and  the  sending  out  of  the  invitations,  the 
Sisters  immediately  set  to  work  for  the  feeding  of 
the  great  multitude  we  earnestly  hoped  would 
come,  for  on  such  a  day  we  must  feed  our  guests 
well  and  not  subject  them  to  the  thinness  of  our 
Kloster  fare. 

Then  too,  though  Sonnlein  concerned  himself 
not  much  about  his  wedding  suit,  the  Sisters  made 
great  ado  that  their  beloved  Genoveva  could  in  no 
wise  be  properly  married  unless  she  had  most 
beautiful  garments  befitting  such  a  wedding  as 
this  ;  so  that  between  the  baking  and  sewing  and 
all  the  other  endless  things  that  women  ever  seem 
to  regard  necessary  for  weddings,  I  fear  that  at 
our  midnight  meetings  Sisters  and  Brothers  did 
not  always  have  their  thoughts  turned  toward  the 
heavenly  Bridegroom  and  the  celestial  Virgin,  the 
hymns  having  more  of  love  in  them  than  ever  be- 


THE  TWAIN  ARE  MADE  ONE        309 

fore.  Whether  this  was  mere  coincidence  I  know 
not,  and  I  leave  this  for  wiser  men  to  determine, 
only  that  Brother  Beissel  the  day  before  the  wed- 
ding complained  to  me  he  verily  believed  it  were 
next  to  useless  to  hold  any  more  midnight  services 
until  we  got  through  with  this  marrying  business ; 
that  even  so  solemn  and  stern  a  Sister  as  the  pri- 
oress seemed  now  to  think  only  of  one  thing, 
which  was  that  Genoveva  should  be  married  in 
proper  state. 

But  even  wedding  days,  like  all  other  days,  are 
bound  to  come  around  if  only  one  waiteth  pa- 
tiently and  hath  found  a  mate,  and  so  Sonnlein's 
came,  a  perfect  spring  day,  neither  hot  nor  cold, 
but  just  such  a  day  of  mild,  pleasant  air  and  cloud- 
less sky  as  might  make  one  content  to  live  on  this 
earth  forever.  I  have  heard  it  said  the  most 
solemn  one  on  a  wedding  day  is  he  who  is  to  be 
married,  some  claiming  this  to  be  due  because  he 
feeleth  that  thereafter  he  hath  lost  his  freedom  as 
being  subject  more  or  less  to  the  will  and  wishes 
of  another.  Whether  this  be  true  I  know  not, 
only  I  can  set  it  forth  that  Sonnlein  greeted  the 
morn  of  his  wedding  day  not  at  all  as  one  going 
to  a  prison  other  than  one  walled  and  barred  by 
the  love  of  his  Genoveva. 

So,  early  in  the  forenoon  of  that  wonderful  day, 
a  great  multitude  was  gathered  on  the  grassy  plot 
between  Saron  and  Bethania  as  we  had  not  seen 


310  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

for  many  a  year,  so  that  even  Brother  Ezechial, 
with  all  his  dread  of  womankind,  came  at  Sonn- 
lein's  call  to  his  cell  and  finally  consented  to  peer 
out  of  the  little  window,  but  in  great  trepidation, 
seeing  so  many  plump  forms  and  rosy  faces,  the 
merry,  tempting  daughters  of  Eve  laughing  and 
talking — whenever  their  elders  ceased  to  remind 
them  we  liked  not  such  levity — like  a  lot  of  chat- 
tering birds. 

"Art  not  sorry  thy  cell  overlooks  the  Cocalico, 
good  brother  ?  "  asked  Sonnlein  soberly. 

"  Tis  an  awful  sight ! "  whispered  Brother 
Ezechial,  shaking  all  over  and  turning  his  eyes 
from  the  gay  medley  below. 

"  Meanest  thou  the  old  one  yonder  who  hath 
such  fierce  look  ? "  said  Sonnlein,  pretending  he 
missed  our  brother's  meaning.  "Thou  needst  not 
look  at  her.  See,  haste  thee,  that  pretty  maid  is 
smiling  to  thee  !  Art  not  going  to  reply  to  such 
challenge  ? " 

"  God  forbid  !  "  exclaimed  Brother  Ezechial  fer- 
vently as  he  turned  hastily  from  the  window  and 
in  mortal  fear  shut  himself  in  his  cell,  though  I 
never  have  believed  one  should  be  this  much  afraid 
of  woman. 

Shortly  after  midday  we  all,  that  is,  all  of  the 
great  crowd  that  could  possibly  get  in,  were 
crowded  into  the  large  Saal.  At  the  farther,  or 
eastern  end  of  the  hall,  in  the  middle  of  a  small 


THE   TWAIN    ARE    MADE   ONE  3  I  I 

platform,  sat  our  one-time  Brother,  now  Justice 
Conrad  Weiser,  grave  and  impressive,  as  became 
the  dignity  of  his  high  office,  and  yet  not  deeming 
it  unworthy  of  the  occasion  to  appear  in  such 
resplendent  apparel  as  confirmed  many  a  good 
Brother  and  Sister  that  our  justice  was,  alas,  be- 
yond redemption  ;  for  from  his  long,  black  swal- 
low-tail coat  gleamed  a  row  of  gold  buttons,  his 
waistcoat  being  a  color  as  I  can  liken  only  to  the 
soft  richness  of  a  ripe  plum  ;  and  more  proudly 
sinful  than  all  this  were  the  silver  buckles  where 
the  long  black  silk  stockings  met  the  dark  knee 
breeches,  and  even  on  his  black  slippers  were 
large  silver  buckles,  the  buckles  and  the  buttons 
twinkling  and  glowing  like  little  lamps,  so  that  we 
all  were  quite  dazed  with  the  dignity  and  radiance 
shed  upon  us  by  our  good  justice. 

To  the  front  of  our  justice  and  a  trifle  to  his 
right,  being  also  on  the  little  platform,  sat  our 
worthy  Vorsteher>  the  lifetime  apostle  of  celibacy, 
with  such  a  look  of  humble  resignation  upon  his 
face  as  would  have  softened  the  stoniest  heart, 
even  though  he  was  clad  in  all  the  solemn  gran- 
deur of  the  sacred  robes,  which,  in  imitation  of 
those  worn  by  the  Jewish  high  priests,  the  Ecker- 
lings  had  wheedled  him  into  wearing. 

To  the  front  and  left  of  our  justice  sat  our  pri- 
oress in  the  robes  of  the  priestess  of  the  Roses  of 
Saron,  stiff,  stern,  and  erect  as   ever,  her  tight, 


312  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

evenly  pressed  lips  giving  her  the  inscrutable 
look  of  a  sphinx,  though  well  I  knew  our  dura 
mater  s  heart  was  beating  warmly  for  our  beloved 
young  sister. 

And  now  having  disposed  of  the  high  dignita- 
ries, I  come  to  my  boy  and  his  Genoveva,  he  sit- 
ting directly  behind  our  leader  and  not  at  all 
abashed,  though  I  have  ever  understood  it  becom- 
eth  a  bridegroom  so  to  appear,  for  he  fairly  shone 
with  health  and  happiness,  so  that  more  than  one 
wistful  glance  was  shot  slyly  at  him  by  the  soft- 
hearted girls;  but  as  to  what  he  had  on,  bless  me, 
even  though  he  was  my  beloved  Sonnlein,  I  cannot 
recall,  only  that  he  was  clothed  as  was  the  custom 
of  the  young  men  of  the  secular  congregation, 
some  plain  black  cloth,  so  near  as  I  can  tell,  form- 
ing the  staple  of  his  attire. 

To  Sonnlein's  left  and  behind  our  prioress  and 
beyond  the  splendor  of  our  justice  sat  our  Genoveva, 
and  though  I  know  little  of  cloths  and  fabrics, 
especially  of  woman's  dress,  if  my  memory  faileth 
me  not  she  was  clothed  somewhat  after  the  manner 
of  the  Sisterhood,  only  instead  of  the  plain,  coarse 
black  dress  or  grayish  ones  they  sometimes  wore, 
her  snow-white  gown  was  of  some  wonderful  mate- 
rial such  as  I  had  not  seen  since  my  student  days 
and  which  gleamed  and  shimmered  much  as  I  have 
seen  the  sunlight  play  on  the  ripples  of  the  Cocalico. 

And  whereas  the  Sisters  ever  had  their  beauty 


THE  TWAIN  ARE  MADE  ONE        313 

enveloped  in  those  hideous  hoods,  so  completely 
hiding  their  virginal  faces  from  the  brothers,  Geno- 
veva,  being  already  within  the  freedom  that  mar- 
riage brings  to  woman,  had  on  no  hood,  not  even 
a  veil  to  hide  that  crown  of  golden  hair  waving  so 
gracefully  and  simply  from  her  brow  and  tied  in 
the  back  with  some  beautiful  band  or  ribbon  formed 
into  a  cunning  bow,  among  the  folds  of  which  were 
ensnared  the  sweet  little  violets  Sonnlein  had 
plucked  for  his  bride,  and  these  little  violets  she 
hath  to  this  day,  for  thus  is  the  heart  of  woman. 

There  were  those,  indeed,  among  the  Sisters 
who  had  gravely  asserted  our  sister  could  not  be 
properly  married  without  a  veil,  but  Sonnlein  and 
I  being  of  one  mind  that  everybody  would  desire 
to  see  how  beautiful  was  our  Genoveva,  we  stoutly 
held  it  were  almost  ungodly  to  hide  her  'neath  a 
hideous  veil.  And  so  as  she  sat  there  blushing 
modestly  whenever  Sonnlein  glanced  at  her,  which 
the  rascal  was  doing  most  of  the  time,  I  know 
many  a  man's  heart  envied  my  boy,  for  surely 
never  did  I  see  anything  to  equal  her  simple,  high- 
souled,  woman's  beauty. 

Thus  I  write  it  down  that  when  one  hath  the 
gift  of  loveliness  one  need  not  gorgeous  raiment. 

Directly  in  front  of  the  low  pulpit  from  behind 
which  shone  the  majesty  of  the  law  was  myself,  on 
a  short  bench,  feeling  very  big,  as  though  all  the 
glory  of  this  wedding  were  mine.     In  front  of  us 


314  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

and  facing  our  way  sat  the  Brotherhood  on  the 
long  benches  running  across  the  hall,  cloaked  and 
cowled,  hands  folded  meekly  across  the  breasts, 
tonsured  heads  bowed,  and  eyes  looking  neither 
to  the  right  nor  the  left,  though  assuredly  there 
was  abundance  of  attractive  provocation.  Even 
our  Brother  Ezechial  had  been  prevailed  upon  to 
leave  the  safety  of  his  retirement  for  the  awful 
perils  of  the  crowded  Saal.  And  our  good  Brother 
Gottleib,  who  ever  maintained  that  all  jewelry  was 
made  in  the  workshop  of  the  Evil  One,  for  once 
overcame  his  scruples  sufficiently  to  wear  the  gold 
ring — containing  a  bit  of  holy  writ  inscribed  in 
Greek — that  proclaimed  our  brother  a  duly  initiated 
member  of  the  Holy  Order  of  the  Mustard  Seed. 

Back  of  the  Brothers  and  under  the  galleries, 
along  the  north  and  the  south  sides  of  the  hall, 
were  the  gray-bearded  housefathers,  and  behind 
them,  filling  every  vantage  place  within  the  sacred 
walls,  were  the  sturdy  sons  of  the  housefathers 
and  the  male  friends  and  guests  who  had  flocked 
from  all  directions  to  see  a  Kloster  wedding. 

And  lest  it  be  thought  that  I,  being  a  surly 
monk,  lack  the  gallantry  due  the  weaker  vessels,  I 
shall  mention  that  in  the  broad,  northern  gallery  of 
the  hall  were  clustered  the  Roses  of  Saron,  while 
the  robust  wives  and  rosy-cheeked  daughters  of  the 
house  elders  and  the  female  friends  and  guests 
were  assembled  in  the  southern  gallery. 


THE   TWAIN    ARE    MADE    ONE  3  I  5 

These  galleries,  or  por-kirche,  as  they  were  called, 
were  screened  with  lattice  work,  following  the  cus- 
tom of  the  synagogues  in  Holland  and  Germany, 
wherein  the  women  were  relegated  to  the  screened 
galleries,  for,  with  Paulus,  we  held  that  women 
should  keep  silent  in  the  churches  and  remain 
modestly  in  the  background,  and  I  rejoice  that  I 
can  write  in  all  truth  that  our  Sisters  in  the  north- 
ern gallery,  like  our  Brethren  on  their  benches 
below,  maintained  strict  and  decorous  silence.  I 
cannot  say  so  much  for  the  wives  and  daughters 
in  the  southern  gallery  who  from  behind  their  lat- 
tice kept  up  such  a  whispering  and  commotion  and 
bustling  and  peering  about  as  greatly  offended  our 
order-loving  souls,  even  our  leader,  who  had  it  ever 
in  him  to  be  all  things  to  all  men  and  who  could 
be  pleasant  as  well  as  stern,  frowning  most  severely, 
so  that  half  the  time  I  was  in  a  tremble  lest  he 
would  burst  forth  into  one  of  his  scoldings. 

But  at  last  there  was  some  semblance  of  order 
in  the  crowded  Saal,  and  then,  at  the  word  from 
our  leader,  our  Brothers  and  Sisters  rose  to  their 
feet  and  sang  a  number  of  our  hymns,  and  surely 
never  was  our  soft  Kloster  music  more  heavenly 
sweet,  a  great  hush  falling  upon  all  the  rest  in  the 
hall,  for  such  power  hath  pure  music  over  the 
human  heart. 

And  then,  Brother  Weiser  having  first  read  from 
the  Bible,  discreetly  selecting  a  chapter  that  had 


3  l6  A    TALE    OF    THE    KLOSTER 

naught  of  marrying  in  it,  motioned  Sonnlein  and 
Genoveva  to  stand  forth,  whereupon  they  stood 
up,  she  in  womanly  grace  and  modesty  and  he  as 
proud  as  any  lord,  my  boy,  by  reason  of  his  royal 
stature  and  his  being  on  the  platform,  fairly  tower- 
ing over  us  as  our  justice  called  out  whether  any 
one  had  aught  to  say  why  these  two  should  not  be 
made  husband  and  wife. 

For  a  moment  there  was  absolute  silence  and 
then  from  the  rear  of  the  hall  came  a  loud,  brutal 
voice  from  one  not  of  our  number,  I  rejoice  to  say, 
who  in  season  and  out  of  season  had  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity ever  since  my  baptism  by  Brother  Beissel 
to  heap  upon  me  every  foul  insult  and  taunt  and 
ridicule.  And  now  with  a  hateful  devil's  smile  on 
his  face  and  a  foul  fiend's  spiteful  laugh,  my  per- 
secutor cried  out,  "  What  name  doth  our  good 
brother's  Sonnlein  give  his  wife  ?  " 

Had  lightning  fallen  upon  us  from  the  clear  sky  I 
know  we  had  not  been  more  dazed,  for  though  we 
had  provided  for  everything  else,  it  had  never  come 
to  us  that  Sonnlein  must  have  a  name  to  give  his 
bride  !  For  a  moment  a  great  bewilderment  held 
me  fast,  and  then,  as  mine  enemy  laughed  loudly 
again  at  our  consternation,  not  heeding  the  angry 
looks  of  the  more  excitable  of  our  housefathers 
and  their  sons,  I  could  see  that  it  required  all  of 
Sonnlein's  will  to  keep  him  from  this  ungentle 
intruder  who  with  his  evil  heart  seemed  to  find 


THE  TWAIN  ARE  MADE  ONE        317 

most  exquisite  delight  in  our  torment  as  he  laughed 
more  brutally  than  before,  "  Call  thyself  '  Miiller,' 
Sonnlein,  and  thou  goest  not  wrong,  I  swear." 

At  this  vile  insult  I  thought  Sonnlein  would  fly 
from  the  platform  and  rend  the  villain  limb  from 
limb,  for  such  passion  was  in  my  boy's  face  as  I 
had  rarely  seen,  but  I  gently  pressed  him  back 
while  I  spake  quietly  but  steadily  so  all  could  hear, 
"  If  Sonnlein  careth  for  it  and  our  sister  will  bear 
the  burden  of  so  humble  a  name  as  Miiller  I  give 
it  gladly,"  and  then  I  cried  out  proudly,  "For  all 
that  mine  enemies  and  the  enemies  of  our  holy 
Order  may  think  or  say  to  the  contrary,  'tis  a 
name  my  boy  need  not  be  ashamed  of!" 

"  And  the  only  one  that  belongs  to  him,  thou 
bald-pated  hypocrite !  "  sneered  mine  enemy  so  all 
could  hear,  whereat  I  so  forgot  myself  to  cry  out 
— for  it  is  foolish  to  lose  one's  temper  and  bandy 
foul  names — "  Thou  liest !  "  but  I  was  beyond  all 
endurance  and  had  I  said  the  word  I  could  see  by 
the  lowering  looks  of  our  adherents  it  would  have 
gone  ill  with  this  hate-poisoned  man,  but  I  con- 
trolled myself,  though  how  I  know  not  to  this  day, 
and  again  I  spake  softly,  "  I  entreat  you  all  to  hold 
yourselves  in  patience  but  a  few  moments  until 
my  return,"  whereupon  I  left  the  Saal,  some  fol- 
lowing me  anxiously  with  their  eyes,  fearing  my 
peace-loving  spirit  was  making  me  run  away  from 
all  this  untimely  quarrel. 


3  l8  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

In  a  few  moments  I  was  back  again  holding 
something  under  my  cloak  out  of  sight  while  I 
related  how  Sonnlein  had  come  to  me  and  about 
the  dying  words  of  Brother  Alburtus  and  the  last 
moments  of  that  poor  woman,  and  as  Sonnlein 
and  Genoveva  and  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  added 
their  testimony  so  far  as  they  knew  I  could  see 
the  great  wonderment  creeping  over  the  faces  of 
all  present,  even  mine  enemy,  despite  his  hate  and 
unbelief,  remaining  quiet  for  once. 

And  then,  having  brought  the  assemblage  to 
this  mood,  I  suddenly  pulled  out  from  beneath  my 
cloak  the  little  white  baby  garment  I  had  found 
on  Sonnlein  that  morning  in  the  woods  in  the 
long  ago  hermit  days.  Holding  up  the  stained 
and  soiled  cloak  so  all  could  see,  I  fairly  shouted 
to  mine  enemy,  l(  Come  and  see  the  pretty  letters 
on  this  child's  cloak,  '  C.  S.,'  "  and  lifting  mine 
hand  on  high,  I  declared  solemnly,  "  Before  the 
Great  Searcher  of  Hearts  I  swear  I  know  not  how 
those  letters  came  there  or  what  they  stand  for)  " 

And  then  came  a  thrilling  cry  from  the  rear  of 
the  hall,  "  Praise  the  Lord,  'tis  David's  boy ! "  and 
then  some  one  rushed  forward  through  the  crowd 
that  fell  back  who  for  a  moment  I  thought  was 
our  Brother  Alburtus  returned  from  the  dead, 
some  of  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  and  of  the  secu- 
lar members  actually  whispering  in  their  fright, 
"  Tis  Brother  Alburtus." 


THE   TWAIN    ARE    MADE    ONE  3  1 9 

But  the  stranger  heeded  not  the  commotion 
only  pressing  forward  the  tears  running  down  his 
face,  and  shaking  in  every  limb,  as  he  caught 
Sonnlein's  hands  in  his,  holding  them  as  if  he 
never  would  let  go,  saying  over  and  over,  "  My 
brother  David's  son  ;  my  brother's  only  son  !  " 

Finally  as  the  stranger  became  more  composed, 
he  turned  to  me.  "  Didst  ask  the  child  its  name 
when  thou  didst  find  him  ?  " 

"  Yea,  the  first  thing  I  sought  was  his  name, 
but  he  only  would  say  *  Tass,'  and  such  name  have 
I  never  heard.  To  this  day  I  know  not  what  he 
meant,  though  often  have  I  thought  on  it." 

"  Oh,  thou  wise,  simple  monk  !  '  Tass  '  was 
naught  more  than  baby  for  '  Charles,'  which  his 
unpractised  lips  could  not  frame  into  other  than 
'  Tass.'    We  all  called  him  «  Tass  '  for  a  pet  name." 

I  could  not  doubt  'twas  so,  for  I  could  see  more 
than  one  of  the  housefathers  and  the  housemothers 
exchange  nods  and  smiles  with  the  nighest  one  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  How  stupid  our  Brother  Jabez 
hath  been  not  to  see  this  long  ago  !  "  But  how  was 
I  to  know,  not  having  any  great  knowledge  of  the 
little  ones  ? 

Then  turning  to  our  justice  I  bowed  humbly, 
and  said,  "  Brother  Weiser  thou  art  a  justice,  and 
if  I  mistake  not  hast  power  and  authority  to  ad- 
minister an  oath  or  an  affirmation. 

To  which  our  justice  gravely  responded,  "  Such 


320  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

power  reposeth  in  me  by  virtue  of  my  commission 
as  justice." 

"  I  shall  ask,  then,  good  brother,  that  our  friend 
who  sayeth  his  name  is  Thomas  Seymour  be 
affirmed  that  he  will  speak  the  truth. 

And  then  as  the  stranger  faced  about  toward 
the  pulpit,  our  justice  with  his  full,  round  voice 
that  ever  sounded  to  me  like  some  strong,  deep 
toned  bell,  said  to  the  stranger : 

"  Dost  thou,  Thomas  Seymour,  solemnly  and 
truly  declare  and  affirm  that  thou  wilt  tell  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth, 
and  so  thou  dost  affirm  ? " 

To  which  the  stranger  as  solemnly  replied,  and 
yet  distinctly  in  the  breathless  silence  of  the  hall, 
"  Yea !  " 

And  now,  after  all  these  long  years,  my  boy 
found  his  own,  right  name ;  and  mine  own  reputa- 
tion, often  so  bitterly  assailed  by  those  who  held 
not  with  our  mode  of  life,  was  cleansed  from  all 
stain  and  dishonor;  for  truly  "a  good  name  is 
better  than  great  riches." 

And  thus  our  good  brother,  Thomas  Seymour, 
whom  many  present  with  us  this  day  vouched  to 
be  one  of  our  most  devout  and  influential  English 
Sabbatarians,  from  Coventry,  had  come  all  this 
long  journey  merely  to  honor  us  with  his  presence  ; 
but  in  the  providence  of  God  destined  to  find  his 
brother's  son  and  to  have  all  this  dark  mystery 


THE  TWAIN  ARE  MADE  ONE         32  1 

about  Brother  Alburtus  and  the  witch  and  Sonn- 
lein  made  as  light  as  day. 

Briefly,  as  our  Brother  Seymour  related  it  to  us, 
he  and  his  brother  David,  known  to  us  as  Brother 
Alburtus,  with  his  wife  Elizabeth  and  their  boy, 
Charles,  our  Brother  Thomas  being  a  bachelor, 
had  lived  together  in  Coventry.  By  the  fall  of  a 
tree,  which  they  were  felling  nigh  their  cabin, 
Brother  Alburtus  received  the  great  gash  across 
his  brow,  the  hurt  taking  his  mind  from  him  so 
that  one  day  he  wandered  away  leaving  no  more 
trace  of  his  departure  than  if  he  had  been  taken 
up  into  the  sky,  only  that  he  had  frequently  after 
his  hurt  spoken  ramblingly  about  joining  the 
hermits  on  the  Cocalico.  Inquiry  among  the 
Solitary  showed  he  was  not  with  them;  for  it  was 
not  until  some  years  after  Sonnlein  and  I  came  to 
Ephrata  that  Brother  Alburtus  joined  our  com- 
munity, and  where  and  how  he  lived  ere  that  no 
one  ever  knew.  Some  weeks  after  he  had  left  his 
wife,  she,  unable  longer  to  endure  her  suspense, 
left  suddenly  with  the  little  boy,  while  our  brother 
Thomas  was  absent  from  the  cabin.  She  and  the 
child  also  were  swallowed  up  so  completely  by  the 
wilderness  that  with  all  his  long  searching  naught 
could  he  find  of  them,  though  he  had  visited  the 
Conestogas,  on  a  rumor  that  there  was  a  white 
woman  living  with  them,  but  they  could  not  or 
would  not  tell  him  aught.     At  last,  almost  heart- 

w 


322  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

broken  and  despairing  of  finding  the  lost  ones, 
whom  he  now  believed  to  be  dead  from  the  wild 
beasts,  or  starvation,  or  the  Indians,  he  left  Cov- 
entry, not  returning  again  for  over  ten  years  after 
the  loss  of  his  brother  David  and  his  wife  and  child. 

More  we  never  learned,  but  it  was  clear  to  all 
that  the  fearsome  witch  was  the  wife  of  Brother 
Alburtus,  that  he  was  David  Seymour,  the  brother 
of  Thomas  Seymour,  and  that  Sonnlein  was  the 
baby.  Many  an  eye  was  dimmed  in  the  Saal  at 
the  plain,  unadorned  recital  of  our  brother's  tale, 
as  we  thought  of  all  the  long  years  of  darkened 
mind  that  had  held  our  Brother  Alburtus,  so  that 
he  knew  not  his  own  boy  though  so  nigh  ;  but 
most  of  all  our  hearts  went  out  in  a  great  sorrow 
for  that  poor  woman  who  half  crazed  by  unweary- 
ing search  and  ever-recurring  disappointment  had 
suffered  all  these  years  the  bitter  pangs  of  separa- 
tion from  husband  and  child  ;  and  I  know  many  a 
silent  prayer  arose  from  our  hearts  for  those  two 
who  at  last  were  sleeping  side  by  side  in  that  rude, 
mountain  grave. 

Indeed,  it  was  a  relief  to  our  strained  feelings 
when  Johann,  who  long  ago  had  forgiven  the  beat- 
ing Sonnlein  had  given  him,  turned  toward  mine 
enemy  yelling  at  him,  "  If  thou  leavest  not  at 
once  with  thy  devil's  grin,  thou  wilt  be  hurled  into 
the  creek,"  whereat  mine  enemy,  abashed  for 
once,  slunk  out  of  the  hall  like  a  whipped  beast. 


THE  TWAIN  ARE  MADE  ONE        323 

Surely  there  is  not  much  else  to  relate  of  this 
marriage,  though  I  shall  never  forget  how  lost  and 
lonesome  I  felt,  like  a  father  bereft  of  his  son, 
when  our  justice  asked  Sonnlein — and  ever  hath 
he  been  Sonnlein  to  me — "  Dost  thou,  Charles 
Seymour,  take  this  woman,  our  Genoveva,  to  be 
thy  lawful  wedded  wife,"  my  boy  responded 
proudly,  "Yea."  And  then,  as  I  remember  it, 
our  justice  asked  our  lovely  Genoveva  a  like  ques- 
tion if  she  would  take  him  to  be  her  husband,  and 
upon  her  low  "  Yea,"  our  justice  pronounced  them 
husband  and  wife,  and  promptly  saluted  her  with 
such  a  willing  smack  as  made  even  the  Sisters 
titter,  while  poor  Brother  Ezechial  hung  his  head 
still  lower,  blushing  to  his  very  ears. 

The  next  day  Sonnlein  and  Genoveva  left  on 
their  honeymoon  with  his  uncle  for  Coventry,  and 
though  Coventry  be  not  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
it  seemed  to  me  as  though  all  the  world  had  left 
me,  only  that  she  kissed  me  ere  she  left,  whereat 
I  blushed  so  through  all  my  long  beard,  that 
Sonnlein  laughed  so  heartily  I  liked  it  not  ;  but 
had  he  known  how  long  I  cherished  the  memory 
of  that  kiss,  the  only  one  for  many  a  long  year, 
ah  me,  my  boy  had  not  laughed  so  boisterously  I 
know. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


RETROSPECT 


Moreo'  er,  the  shields  so  steady  and  the  consecrated  swords, 

0  God,  that  I  were  worthy  to  join  the  victor  lords. 
Then  should  I  like  the  others  achieve  a  prize  untold, 

Not  lands  that  have  been  promised,  nor  king' s  or  noble' s  gold, 
But  oh,  a  wondrous  crown,  and  for  evermore  to  wear 
A  crown  which  poorest  soldier  can  win  with  axe  and  spear. 
Yea,  if  the  noble  crusade  I  might  follow  o'  er  the  sea, 

1  evermore  should  sing,  All' s  well  !  and  nevermore,  Ah  me  ! 

Nevermore,  Ah  me  ! 

—  Walther  Von  der  Vogeliveide. 

ND   now,  after  the  long 
lapse    of    many    years 
since  my  boy  and  our 
Genoveva    were    made 
one — and  yet  how  short 
the  time   hath    been — 
one  of  my  chiefest  de- 
lights is  to  dwell  on  the 
past.      Mine    eyes    are 
no  longer  turned  toward 
the   future  with    eager 
questioning  as  in  my  youth.     In  mine  old  age  I 
am  like  unto  an  old  tree  standing  alone,  a  solitary 
324 


RETROSPECT  325 

landmark  of  the  decline  of  our  Kloster,  the  set- 
ting sun  casting  my  shadow  toward  the  morning. 
The  Kloster  hath  never  survived  the  indomitable 
spirit  of  its  founder,  Brother  Beissel,  and  his 
sturdy  associates.  Slowly  but  surely  its  power 
hath  diminished.  Since  the  days  our  warrior, 
Brother  Wohlforth,  left  us  many  others  of  our 
number  have  gone  to  their  eternal  reward. 
Brother  Obed,  our  schoolmaster,  with  his  kindly, 
genial  soul,  long  ago  have  I  missed  him  from  his 
accustomed  place,  and  the  Eckerlings,  of  whose 
sad  fate  we  heard  years  after  they  left  us,  they 
too,  with  their  dreams  of  commercial  conquest, 
have  passed  away  to  that  realm  which  harbors 
neither  bargain  nor  sale. 

The  first  great  loss  that  came  to  us  was  our 
Brother  Enoch,  our  justice,  who  died  but  a  few 
years  after  that  never  to  be  forgotten  wedding ; 
but  not  many  years  before  his  death  there  was 
great  rejoicing  among  us  to  know  that  the  serious 
breach  between  our  leader  and  our  justice  had 
been  closed,  and  though  our  justice  had  greatly 
grieved  us  when  he  allowed  himself  to  be  fooled 
so  to  accept  a  commission  from  the  governor,  yet 
when  we  saw  the  door  of  our  brother's  long  spir- 
itual capcivity  had  been  opened  we  welcomed  him 
gladly,  so  that  his  old  acquaintances  of  the  Kloster 
all  told  him  the  lost  piece  of  silver  was  now  found. 
Not  long  after,  our  congregation  assembled  for  a 


326  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

love  feast  at  which  he,  by  partaking  of  the  holy 
sacraments,  was  reincorporated  into  our  spiritual 
community,  although  we  willingly  after  his  death 
yielded  to  his  mother  church  the  honor  of  having 
garnered  in  his  body. 

He  died  on  a  Sunday  after  a  violent  attack  of 
colic,  and  was  buried  on  his  farm  at  Heidelberg, 
not  a  great  distance  from  us  to  the  northeast, 
where  with  his  children  and  a  number  of  Indians 
he  awaits  the  call  of  the  last  day. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  closing  years  of  our 
beloved  leader — and  surely  these  were  full  of 
trouble.  For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his 
death  it  became  manifest  to  all  of  us  that  physi- 
cal infirmities  were  fast  growing  upon  him.  But 
far  more  grave  than  these  were  the  estrangements 
he  suffered  more  or  less  from  both  of  our  Solitary 
Orders,  though  it  seemeth  not  becoming  to  set 
forth  here  the  false  and  bitter  accusations  made 
against  our  leader  so  that  his  cup  of  bitterness 
was  pressed  to  the  full. 

All  during  the  winter  of  1 767-1 768,  besides 
the  distress  of  mind  and  spirit,  he  suffered  from 
many  diseases,  chiefly  a  wasting  cough,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  July  of  1768  his  various  ailments 
became  so  aggravated  he  was  most  of  the  time  in 
great  pain,  so  that  he  was  forced  to  exclaim  more 
than  once  to  me — and  I  rejoice  now  I  never  de- 
serted him — that  he  was  nailed  to  the  cross ;  but 


RETROSPECT  327 

such  was  his  stubborn  will  and  fortitude  that  he 
refused  to  acknowledge  any  physical  sickness,  but 
would  often  say  his  sufferings  were  mere  spiritual 
throes  preceding  his  new  birth.  He  also  found 
great  comfort  in  the  firm  persuasion,  which  many 
of  his  most  intimate  followers  held  with  him,  that 
he  would  be  spared  the  pains  of  a  bodily  dissolu- 
tion and  would  be  translated  into  the  realms  of 
bliss  as  Enoch  and  Elijah  of  old  ;  but  in  this,  like 
his  predecessor  on  the  Wissahickon,  Magister  Jo- 
hannus  Kelpius,  our  leader  was  destined  to  make 
his  exit  in  no  wise  different  from  ordinary  mortals. 

Notwithstanding  his  grievous  infirmities  our 
leader  attended  to  the  duties  of  his  office  to 
within  eight  days  of  his  end,  when  for  the  last 
time,  in  his  priestly  robes,  he  officiated  at  a  love 
feast,  and  seeing  that  his  end  was  nigh  he  conse- 
crated Brother  Philemon  and  Brother  Eleazer  and 
myself  to  the  priesthood,  from  which  his  successor 
should  be  selected.  While  in  such  suffering  he 
received  word,  only  three  days  before  his  death, 
that  one  of  our  oldest  housemothers  was  breath- 
ing her  last,  and  that  she  wished  to  see  our  leader 
even  if  he  could  not  speak  to  her.  So  with  him 
leaning  on  my  arm  we  went  to  our  dear  sister's, 
thereby  fulfilling  her  wish. 

"At  last,"  so  our  Chronicon  states,  "Wednes- 
day, the  sixth  day  of  July  of  the  year  1768  came 
when  he  laid  aside  his  mortal  raiment." 


328  A   TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

On  that  morning,  having  rallied  somewhat,  he 
attended  prayers  in  the  Sisters'  Saalt  and  sought 
earnestly  for  reconciliation  with  our  prioress,  but 
in  vain.  As  he  returned  to  his  cabin,  sad  at 
heart — for  with  all  his  fiery  nature  he  ever  strove 
to  merit  his  favorite  name,  Father  Friedsam  Gott- 
recht  (Father  Peaceful  Godright) — none  of  us 
thought  his  departure  was  so  near ;  for  the  powers 
of  darkness,  as  he  said,  could  not  prevail  upon 
him  to  lie  down. 

Meanwhile  the  Brethren  kept  a  constant  watch, 
for  many  of  our  little  flock  looked  for  great  hap- 
penings, feeling  assured  the  powers  of  death  would 
have  no  easy  struggle  with  such  an  old  soldier  of 
the  cross,  who  was  neither  accustomed  to  call 
on  men  for  mercy  nor  to  yield  to  the  powers  of 
darkness. 

But  by  the  time  the  sun  had  stood  at  midday, 
we  could  see  the  end  was  near,  and  all  the  Solitary 
and  the  near-by  householders  gathered  about  him 
in  his  little  cabin,  soon  filling  it,  many  standing 
outside  the  doorway.  On  his  little  bench,  as  hard 
and  uncomfortable  as  any  of  ours — for  he  scorned 
any  comforts  denied  to  his  disciples — sat  our  little 
ruler,  gaunt,  wasted,  his  features  thin  and  drawn, 
and  eyes  sunken.  Around  him  clustered  the  Breth- 
ren of  Bethania,  sad  and  silent,  but  not  shedding 
any  tears  to  annoy  his  stubborn  spirit.  Back  of 
the  Brethren  stood  the  Sisters,  some  of  the  shorter 


RETROSPECT  329 

ones  on  a  bench,  and  most  of  them  weeping  quietly 
despite  their  fortitude.  All  was  silence  and  ex- 
pectation. But  though  within  the  cabin  reigned 
the  darkness  of  death,  outside  under  the  glowing 
sun  all  was  life  and  brightness,  like  the  glorious 
radiance  that  would  burst  through  the  gates  of 
death,  for  our  beloved  leader. 

Over  an  hour  we  stood,  not  saying  a  word,  but 
all  the  while  our  brother  becoming  weaker  and 
weaker  from  the  great  heat  and  the  stifling  air  in 
so  small  a  cabin.  At  last  he  broke  the  silence 
and  asked  the  Brethren  to  bless  him  and  receive 
his  memory  into  their  fellowship.  Then  I  an- 
nointed  him  with  the  holy  oil,  and  as  I  spread  the 
sacred  chrism  upon  his  forehead  I  gave  him  my 
blessing  with  the  laying  on  of  hands,  after  which 
all  the  Brethren  in  turn  gave  him  the  kiss  of  peace 
to  take  with  him  on  his  journey. 

After  this  tender  ceremony  was  over  he  con- 
sented, after  my  continued  persuasion,  to  lie  down 
on  his  bench,  resting  his  head  upon  the  wooden 
block  that  had  served  him  so  many  years.  He 
lay  quietly  for  a  while  with  eyes  closed,  and  then 
as  if  gazing  into  the  very  depths  of  eternity,  he 
partly  raised  himself  on  his  elbow  and  exclaimed, 
"  O  wehe  !  O  wehc  !  O  wunder !  O  wunder!"  (Oh, 
woe !  Oh,  woe !  Oh,  wonder !  Oh,  wonder !) 
and  then  fell  back,  his  spirit  soon  after  taking  its 
flight   peacefully  from   its   earthly   home  to  that 


330  A    TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

still  more  wonderful  home  of  which  oft  during  his 
stay  with  us  he  had  received  such  gracious  visions. 

Immediately  upon  his  death  messengers  were 
sent  out  near  and  far  with  slips  prepared  by  the 
Sisters,  inviting  the  people  to  the  funeral  of  our 
Vorsteher  which,  on  account  of  the  great  heat, 
was  set  but  two  days  following  his  death,  the 
Brethren  meanwhile  preparing  the  body  for  burial, 
the  Sisterhood  keeping  vigil,  five  Sisters  constantly 
watching  and  reciting  prayers  for  our  dead. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral  our  usual  customs 
were  observed,  such  as  sweeping  the  floor  of  his 
cabin,  pouring  a  bucket  of  water  over  the  door- 
sill,  and  the  chalking  of  the  three  crosses  upon 
the  side  of  the  doorway.  And  there  were  those 
who,  following  an  old  German  superstition,  went 
about  and  informed  every  hive  of  bees  within  our 
grounds  and  for  a  considerable  distance  without, 
of  the  death  of  our  leader,  it  being  firmly  believed 
that  the  bees  would  swarm  if  this  notice  to  them 
were  neglected ;  and  also  every  barrel,  keg,  and 
crock  of  wine  and  vinegar  and  pickles  and  sauer 
kraut  and  preserved  fruits,  in  order  not  to  be 
spoiled,  had  to  be  turned  on  the  shelves  or  skids. 

The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  great 
Saal  we  had  built  many  years  before  at  a  right 
angle  with  Bethania,  where  our  brother  had  so 
often  preached.  After  a  sermon  by  me  there  were 
addresses  by  Brothers  Philemon  and  Obed.     We 


RETROSPECT  331 

sang  special  hymns,  and  never  did  our  Kloster 
music,  in  which  our  leader  had  ever  taken  such 
great  pride,  sound  more  sweet  and  heavenly. 
When  the  services  were  over  in  the  Saal  the  body 
of  our  Vorstcher  was  carried  to  the  graveyard  close 
by,  followed  by  the  immense  throng  in  spite  of 
the  short  notice  gathered  from  every  direction. 
Before  lowering  him  into  his  last  resting-place, 
the  lid  of  the  coffin  was  again  raised,  so  that  ac- 
cording to  our  ritual  the  sun  might  once  more 
shine  upon  his  body.  Then  his  body  was  turned 
slightly  to  the  right  side,  being  kept  in  place  by  a 
piece  of  sod,  thus  ensuring  perfect  rest  in  his  grave. 
The  lid  was  then  closed  down,  and  the  little  form 
of  our  great-souled  leader  was  lowered  into  the  dark 
cell,  there  to  repose  until  the  trumpet  of  the  angel 
shall  call  him  forth  to  receive  his  crown. 

On  the  same  day  our  brother  died,  a  Sister  who 
lately  joined  the  Roses  of  Saron  passed  away,  and 
this  being  joined  to  the  death  of  the  housemother 
but  a  few  days  before,  gave  the  Solitary  firm  assur- 
ance that  the  departed  spirits  of  our  sister  and  the 
housemother  had  been  deputed  to  attend  the  spirit 
of  our  Vorsteker  and  minister  to  it. 

Often  during  his  life  he  had  promised  he  would 
return  in  spirit  to  the  Kloster  after  leaving  this 
world.  Many  of  the  Solitary  as  well  as  the  set- 
tlers about  us  firmly  believed  this.  It  hath  ever 
been  a  matter  of  much  thought  with  me  whether 


332  A   TALE   OF   THE    KLOSTER 

or  not  the  spirits  of  the  dead  ever  revisit  their  be- 
loved ones  on  earth.  It  seemeth  to  me  it  should 
and  must  be  so,  and  yet  have  I  never  been  vouch- 
safed such  visions.  But  only  two  days  after  his 
burial  our  leader  appeared  to  Brother  Luther  and 
Sister  Catharina,  in  their  cells.  He  also  appeared 
to  our  Brother  Ezechial,  who  for  some  fancied  griev- 
ance had  been  the  only  one  of  our  number  not  to 
attend  the  funeral  and  gave  our  disgruntled  brother 
most  earnest  admonitions,  so  that  Brother  Ezechial 
became  a  changed  man,  for  the  better  let  it  be 
said.  Later  on,  our  leader's  visits  to  the  Solitary 
became  nightly  occurrences,  and  indeed  he  even 
appeared  to  one  of  our  Germantown  brethren. 

Be  these  things  as  they  may,  for  I  record  not 
what  I  saw — merely  what  I  heard — this  I  know  to 
be  true,  that  with  all  his  failings  and  short-com- 
ings our  Kloster  reached  its  greatest  renown  dur- 
ing the  rule  of  our  little  leader.  Naught  but  a 
poor  journeyman  baker  had  he  been  in  his  early 
days  ;  of  little  learning,  but  to  a  man  of  such  great 
talents  as  his,  the  lack  of  learning  from  books 
hindered  him  little.  In  his  lifetime  he  originated, 
with  some  help  from  others,  our  wonderful  Kloster 
music,  himself  composing  fully  one  thousand  pieces 
of  music,  printing  over  four  hundred  of  them,  and 
full  of  beauty  and  prophetic  insight  are  they,  so 
that  we  hold  them  as  great  treasures.  And  with 
all  his  fiery  nature,  there  was  in  this  man  such 


RETROSPECT  333 

tenderness  and  humility  that  in  time  most  of  the 
estrangements  of  his  early  Kloster  life  were  fully 
reconciled,  thereby  confirming  what  he  ever  main- 
tained, that  he  was  a  lover  of  peace. 

But  I  shall  not  longer  darken  my  story  with  the 
deaths  of  my  beloved  Brothers  and  Sisters.  I  still 
have  my  Sonnlein  and  his  devoted  Genoveva.  After 
that  blissful  day,  they  went  with  his  uncle,  living 
with  him,  he  being  a  bachelor,  until  his  death,  after 
which,  his  estate  having  come  to  Sonnlein,  he  and 
Genoveva,  at  my  earnest  persuasions,  took  up  a 
farm  near  by,  which  Sonnlein  tilleth  like  a  good 
husbandman,  only  that  he  never  hath  outlived  his 
love  for  hunting  and  fishing,  even  though  he  is  now 
on  toward  middle  age.  But  such  hath  ever  been 
the  simplicity  of  his  life  that  he  hath  the  strength 
and  spirit  of  one  in  his  thirties. 

As  for  our  beloved  Genoveva,  she  too  is  of  those 
blessed  ones  who  never  grow  old — for  surely  time 
seemeth  to  have  no  influence  on  that  fair  face  and 
graceful  form.  What  a  sweet,  noble  woman  she 
is  !  Indeed,  it  is  Sonnlein's  oft-repeated  jest,  that 
he  is  exceedingly  jealous  of  old  Vaterchen;  to  which 
Genoveva  maketh  gentle  retort  that  she  never  quite 
understandeth  how  she  came  even  to  think  of 
Sonnlein  while  I  was  about.  But  she  is  all  devo- 
tion to  her  Sonnlein  and  her  children  ;  and  what 
a  brood  of  healthy,  happy-hearted,  romping,  noisy 
boys  and  girls  they  are,  so  that  often  they  are  re- 


334  A   TALE    0F   THE    KLOSTER 

proved  for  worrying  so  much  their  grandfather 
jabez — to  such  dignity  have  I  attained.  But  with 
all  their  sitting  on  me  and  sliding  over  me  and 
pulling  my  beard  and  hanging  to  my  cloak  wherever 
I  go,  I  would  not  for  worlds  have  them  otherwise. 

The  eldest  one,  a  tall,  grave,  solemn-eyed  youth, 
who  is  ever  at  his  books,  and  asketh  me  most  seri- 
ous questions,  hath  been  named  Jabez,  against  my 
earnest  protestations. 

A  second,  a  lively  young  imp,  who  careth  for 
everything  but  books,  they  have  called  Peter,  he  no 
doubt  representing  my  more  worldly  life  ere  I  joined 
the  Kloster,  as  Jabez  standeth  for  my  stricter  life 
thereafter.  Indeed,  I  often  aver  that  had  I  more 
names  Sonnlein  and  Genoveva  would  make  use  of 
every  one.  There  is  too,  a  precious  little  toddler 
whom  they  consented  at  my  request  to  call  Sonn- 
lein, all  my  names  being  used  up. 

Beside  the  cradle  in  which  lieth  a  plump,  rosy, 
crowing,  happy  baby,  our  little  Genoveva,  stands 
a  sweet-faced  little  maid,  with  hair  of  gold  and 
heaven's  own  blue  eyes,  whom,  though  I  have  ever 
been  a  great  stickler  for  impartiality,  I  cannot  help 
loving  a  trifle  the  best ;  for  Genoveva,  with  that 
marvelous  insight  women  seem  to  have  above  men 
in  matters  of  the  heart,  hath  named  the  little 
maid  Bernice.     Ah  me  ! 

As  for  me,  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  mayhap  I 
did  not  use  all   of  my  few  talents  faithfully.     I 


RETROSPECT  335 

wonder  sometimes  whether  I  did  not  bury  some 
here  in  the  solitary  life  of  the  Kloster.  Not  that 
we  were  selfish,  or  mean,  or  lacked  in  love  for  our 
Father ;  but  perhaps,  aye,  I  fear  it  is  so,  man  can- 
not best  serve  man  by  withdrawing  from  him.  I 
see  clearly  now  it  was  not  the  Master's  way.  He 
taught  neither  fasting  nor  feasting  ;  neither  vigils 
nor  sluggish  sleep.  Even  within  the  sacred  bounds 
of  our  Kloster,  sequestered  from  the  world,  things 
were  not — it  pains  me  e'en  now  to  say — as  holy 
as  they  should  have  been.  Hate,  spite,  envy, 
greed,  lust,  passion,  ambition,  intrigue,  quarrelings, 
bickerings,  misunderstandings,  false,  bitter  charges, 
prevailed  within  the  monastery  no  less  than  without. 
I  understand  now  what  the  deep-sighted  Luther 
meant  when  he  said  that  the  world  is  in  the  heart  of 
man  and  not  in  his  surroundings.  It  is  even  so,  and 
because  it  is  so,  I  cannot  withstand  the  arguments 
of  those  who  contend  truthfully  that  the  life  of  the 
monk  and  the  nun,  sweet  and  holy  though  it  may 
be,  is  not  so  large  and  noble  and  useful  as  the  life 
of  him  and  her  who  with  duty  for  a  watchword  and 
purity  of  heart  for  an  armor  and  the  word  of  God 
for  a  sword  go  forth  to  battle  with  sin  wherever 
his  horrid  form  may  be  seen. 

But  thanks  to  the  priceless  inheritance  of  a 
strong,  healthy  body,  preserved  by  temperance  in 
diet,  serenity  of  mind,  and  abundance  of  labor  in 
the  open  air  close  to  the  heart  of  God,  mine  old 


336  A    TALE    OF   THE    KLOSTER 

age  hath  not  yet  become  a  reproach  to  me.  Still, 
like  the  Preacher,  I  feel  it  will  not  be  many  days 
ere  the  keepers  of  the  house  shall  tremble,  the 
grinders  cease  because  they  are  few,  and  those  that 
look  out  of  the  windows  be  darkened.  I  have  en- 
deavored always  to  bear  victory  and  defeat,  joy 
and  sadness,  with  evenness  of  spirit.  I  have  not 
complained  overmuch  here  and  surely  when  the 
silver  cord  is  loosed  for  me  or  the  golden  bowl  be 
broken  and  I  meet  Him  face  to  face  in  the  bound- 
less fields  of  eternity,  I  know  naught  but  bliss  will 
be  mine ;  and  yet  with  my  poor  earthly  sight  and 
understanding,  I  shall  long  to  meet  there  and  be 
with  them  for  evermore,  father,  mother,  the  Broth- 
ers and  Sisters  of  the  Kloster,  Sonnlein  and  his 
beloved  Genoveva  and  their  dear  children  ;  but 
dearer  than  all  these  I  want  again  to  clasp  to  my 
breast  the  sweet  flower  cut  off  while  still  in  its 
budding,  my  Bernice. 


Mr.  Koons  has  written  an  admirable  book  in  "A  Tale  of  the 
Kloster,"  but  I  am  in  doubt  whether  it  is  a  novel,  after  all,  and 
whether  he  should  have  attempted  to  make  it  a  novel.     He  tells 


*  A  Tale  of  the  Kloster :  A  Romance  of  the  German  Mystics  of  the  Cocalico.  By  Bro- 
ther Jabez.  Illustrations  by  Frank  McKernan.  Philadelphia:  Griffith  &  Rowland  Press, 
1904. 

us  in  his  preface  that  what  he  has  attempted  is  "a  romance  wound 
about  the  facts,  incidents,  traditions  and  descriptions,"  taken  from 
Dr.  Julius  Friedrich  Sachse's  "German  Sectarians  of  Pennsyl- 
vania,'' Mr.  Koons  concerns  himself  only  with  the  doings  of  the 
Ephrata  Kloster,  dominated  by  Conrad  Beissel.  He  humanizes 
Dr.  Sachse's  researches  by  telling  the  story  of  the  fortunes  of 
this  Seventh  Day  Baptist  sect,  through  the  mouth  of  Brother 
Jabez,  who  in  the  world  had  been  Johann  Peter  Miiller.  We  get 
from  the  book  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  gentle,  strong  man, 
we  feel  his  personality,  we  delight  in  him  as  we  would  in  a  friend. 
Brother  Jabez  is  the  one  entirely  successful  character  creation  in 
"A  Tale  of  the  Kloster."  Beissel,  I  have  a  very  definite  impres- 
sion of,  but  some  of  that,  I  think,  I  have  from  my  knowledge  of 
that  hard,  unlovable,  and  I  am  afraid  it  must  be  confessed — over 
politic  man,  gained  from  other  sources  than  the  pages  of  Mr. 
Koons'  book.  Wohlforth  and  the  Ekerling  brothers,  the  other 
persons  in  this  Lancaster  community  are  truthfully  depicted,  but 
they  are  not  principal  characters  in  the  story.  The  truth  is,  the 
story  is  lost  in  the  more  interesting  history  of  the  community. 
Their  daily  labor  in  field  and  woodlot,  their  house-building,  their 
help  of  their  less  frugal  neighbors,  are  more  interesting  than 
Sonnlein,  the  boy  that  Brother  Jabez,  then  known  as  "Peter  the 
Hermit,"  finds  in  the  woods,  and  the  witch-wife  that  we  have  a 
prescience  from  the  beginning  in  Sonnlein's  mother,  poor  crazy 
body  and  malignant  as  she  is,  and  Brother  Alburtus  that  turns  out 
to  be  Sonnlein's  father  after  the  flesh ;  and  Sister  Genoveva  that 
gives  up  her  place  in  the  sisterhood  to  become  Sonnlein's  bride ; 
and  Sister  Bernice  that  Brother  Jabez  would  not  give  up  his  vows 
to  wed.  Far  more  interesting  than  these  characters  and  all  the 
romantic  apparatus  Mr.  Koons  has  created  to  draw  the  average 
novel  reader  to  the  book,  the  witch-wife's  secret  dwelling,  the 
abduction  of  Sister  Genoveva,  the  strange  death  of  Brother 
Alburtus,  etc.,  is  the  exposition  of  the  high  ideals  and  self- 
abnegation  that  drove  these  dreamers  into  the  wilderness  to  wor- 
ship God  after  their  own  way.  Mysticism  is  in  itself  so  romantic 
a  thing,  appealing  or  repellant  as  it  may  be  to  this  man  or  that, 
that  for  the  kind  of  reader  his  book  would  attract  no  ordinary 
frontier  novel  apparatus  was  necessary.  Far  stronger  motives 
lay  nearer  at  hand.  The  old,  old  struggle  between  duty  and 
desire  is  one  element  in  his  story,  it  is  inherent  in  it,  and  could 


THE  ALUMNI  REGISTER. 

much  better  1     it  Ken  emphasized  than  the  crazy-woman-Indian 

interest,  not  nearly  so  natural  to  it. 

But,  as  I  said,  the  value  of  the  book  is  in  its  bringing  home  to 
us  these  German  mystics,  as  no  one  else  has  brought  them  home. 
By  getting  to  know  so  well  Brother  Jabez  we  get  to  know  how 
lovable,  how  human,  some  of  them  must  have  been  for  all  their 
peculiarities.  We  learn  why  they  believed  as  they  believed,  why 
they  did  as  they  did,  why  they  prospered  as  they  prospered. 
There  are  many  pilgrimages  to  Ephrata  now-a-days — pilgrimages 
that  will  prove  doubly  interesting  to  any  that  have  read  Mr. 
Koons'  book.  To  look  on  those  old  buildings  that  survive  with 
some  definite  conception  of  what  their  builders  held  to,  what 
strange  rites,  colored  with  Rosicrucianism,  were  performed  there, 
as  well  as  what  simple  piety  inspired  the  lives  of  Brothers  and 
Sisters  that  lived  in  them  will  make  the  pilgrimage  to  Ephrata  an 
adventure  of  romance.  The  book  is  written  simply  and  well ;  it 
holds  together  despite  the  witch-wife  and  Indian ;  and  it  is  per- 
meated with  the  pleasant  personality  of  Brother  Jabez — who  is 
perhaps  as  much  its  author  as  Peter  Muller. 

In  his  preface  Mr.  Koons  reveals  that  he  knows  much  of  the 

present  day  Pennsylvania  Germans.     Why  are  we  all  so  foolish  as 

to  resent  "The  Pennsylvania  Dutch"  the  county  calls  us?    We 

hope  he  may  picture  them  for  us,  for,  as  he  himself  says,  it  can 

only  be  a  little  while  until  their  individuality  will  be  lost  along 

with  "Fostnacht"  "festivities,"  "frolics"  and  "vendues,"  and  the 

picturing  of  them  is  well  worth  while,  it  seems  to  me.     Some  cor- 
— •/•*"  ■      ~~ '  ' 

CORNEUUS  WlCYGANDT,   '91    C. 


